The 2023 driver market was somewhat a damp squib with each driver at the final race of the year, taking up the same race seat for the start of 2024. Lewis Hamilton confirmed after the summer break he was staying at Mercedes which ended speculation he could leave his lifelong F1 sponsor for the red of Maranello.

Yet clearly the contract Lewis signed was not to his liking and within five months of the ink drying on the Brackley deal, the seven times world champion rocked the F1 world with his 2024 pre-season announcement he would indeed drive for the Scuderia in 2025.

 

 

 

Make a “documentary” says Italian media

Carlos Sainz is the unfortunate victim of the Hamilton/Ferrari tie up and he now faces an entire season knowing he has to find a seat for next year. Now questions are being asked as to whether Fred Vasseur and Ferrari chairman John Elkin acted in haste in their recruitment of the British driver.

The amazing tale which saw the Spaniard rushed to hospital for an emergency appendicitis operation in Jeddah only to return two weeks later and comfortably beat his team mate to claim victory in Melbourne – is one worthy of a “documentary” said one Marca report.

Long time Italian F1 journalist, Maro Canseco, questioned the politics behind the Hamilton/Sainz decision suggesting Formula One’s most famous team has dropped the ball by engaging a driver “in clear decline.”

“In the offices of Maranello, or rather Turin, they made a decision to do without their currently best driver, already in 2023 ahead of Charles Leclerc, to place a driver in clear decline not so much in talent or morale and of lacking in attitude, as the seven-time champion has been demonstrating in recent times,” penned Canseco.

Mercedes finally identify car setup pattern

 

 

 

Hamilton deal “not based on sporting values”

The author continued suggesting the main reason behind Hamilton’s Ferrari deal was commercial and not because he is expected to beat Leclerc.

“It is not based on sporting values, but on marketing. May God preserve their sight,” Canseco adds. “Hamilton’s retirement (engine) when he was clearly behind Russell again indicates that he is no longer the undisputed first driver at Mercedes and it is very likely that he will not be able to beat the Monegasque in 2025 either.”

Sainz himself confirmed the Hamilton/Ferrari deal came out of left field and followed an initial offer to contract by the team for the Spaniard to remain in Maranello for another year.

Other Italian media have reported it was John Elkan who took the decision to sign Hamilton and that Fred Vasseur would have preferred to have kept his settled driver lineup. “The aim is to renew them [both] before next season, yes. The last part of the year was a bit of a chaos and we have only recently started the renewal discussions. We are behind Mercedes, which announced the renewals of both its drivers in August, but this is not a problem,” the Ferrari boss told Fomrula1a.uno after the post season test in Abu Dhabi.

New evidence F1 is in trouble

 

 

 

Hamilton disgruntled with Mercedes deal

Clearly disgruntled with the short term deal his team had offered, Hamilton decided to re-open the talks he had in 2023 with Ferrari. Now Vasseur is left to ponder how he will manage the fading seven times world champion next year when he comes up against a team mate in Charles Leclerc who is at worst on a par with George Russell.

With Carlos Sainz claiming P3 in Bahrain behind the two Red Bull’s and beating his team mate again in Australia to claim the win for the Scuderia, “is messing everything up at Ferrari,” ex-F1 driver and commentator – Christian Danner – tells Motorsport-Magazin.com

Danner believes Sainz can rightfully question his superiors in Maranello as to why he has been released from the team.  “’Firstly, you’ve signed the wrong driver for next year. Hamilton is lagging behind, I’m much better. Secondly, if you want Hamilton, you’ve kept the wrong one because I’m faster’.”

Danner then turns to how all this is plating out in Charles LecLerc’s mind: “If I, as a future number one driver, am blown away by the fired driver, that’s difficult,” says Danne.

Russell now criticised following Alonso penalty

 

 

 

Ferrari bosses ‘acted in haste’

“Sainz goes at it with a commitment, a joy and an aggressiveness that I really like! It also requires a fervent attitude: ‘Now it’s me and nobody else’. You can see that not only in his eyes, but in every corner.”

The Marca reporter describes Ferrari’s swoop for Hamilton as “highly political”, and argues Carlos is proving to team boss Fred Vasseur that he acted in haste.

“He should have waited a little longer,” Danner feels “it wasn’t necessary.”

Sainz has created early season headlines speculating on where the 29 year old F1 driver will be racing come the start of next year. His team mate has every faith in the Spanish racer stating: 

New F1 points system under discussion

 

 

 

Leclerc backs team mate

“He’s one of the highest rated drivers in the paddock and he’s been extremely strong every time he has been in a Formula One car and has shown it multiple times.

“That’s why I’m not too worried about his future,” added the Monegasque.

Carlos Sainz believes the SF-24 is not yet on the pace of Red Bull just quite yet, but Maranello are pushing hard to bring upgrades to the car in the near future.

“Our car worked really well this weekend,” the Spaniard said. “But it’s going to be tough to keep it up there in every track until we bring an upgrade to close that gap that we saw in Bahrain and Jeddah.”

Ferrari secret weapon revealed

 

 

 

Ferrari upgrade in pipeline

“But around Australia, from lap one, it felt like a race-winning car. And even if Red Bull were also quick and were on pole, that [1min15.915sec pole lap time] in quali wasn’t out of reach for us.”

A big SF-24 upgrade was planned at the start of the year for Imola, but Ferrari are now pushing to have new aero components for the car next week in Japan. Yet, even with the car in its current specification Carlos is positive about its competitive performance.

“I felt like I could keep up with him on the first lap and try and take DRS, just to make sure that… DRS around here is super powerful,” he added.

Red Bull’s decision made on Max Verstppen

 

 

 

More Ferrari “blushes”

However, its impossible to know what would have happened had Max not suffered brake problems which the team later claimed began prior to lights out. Max had pulled out only a nine-tenths of a second over Sainz after lap one, giving him DRS to remain on the tail of the world champion before taking the lead on lap three.

Verstappen may have been hampered over lap one by his on fire brakes and for this reason Carlos was able to stay with the Red Bull.

Ferrari may suffer more blushes from their decision to sack Carlos Sainz next time out in Japan should he continue the form he has with Ferrari’s latest F1 machine – one which his team mate appears for now less comfortable with.

Max fuels RBR exit in Dutch media

 

 

 

Hamilton ‘hypocrisy’ questioned by fellow F1 drive

Formula One is indeed experiencing testing times off track at present. Much of the news column inches written this year about the sport have been little to do with the racing and everything to do with one potential scandal after another.

Despite being soundly beaten by his team mate thus far, Lewis Hamilton has been using his platform as a seven times F1 world champion to call out alleged clandestine practices along with repeated calls for transparency in Formula One… READ MORE