What Carlos Sainz can do in his last Ferrari season to recommend himself to other teams for 2025, according to Daniel Ricciardo, and what he thinks of Lewis Hamilton
Which team will Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz line up for in the 2025 Formula 1 season? Unlike his successor Lewis Hamilton, this question remains unanswered. One person who can put himself in Sainz’s shoes is Daniel Ricciardo. He has also gone through several phases in his career in which he did not know what his sporting future would look like
If you look at the previous stages of their respective Formula 1 careers, it almost seems as if Sainz and Ricciardo have consistently avoided each other. Ricciardo drove for Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013 before switching to Red Bull for five years. Sainz, on the other hand, made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015. The Spaniard drove in Red Bull’s B team until the fall of 2017 before switching to Renault.
After Sainz left the Renault team at the end of 2018 after just over a year, Ricciardo docked on for two years (2019 and 2020). Sainz in turn drove for McLaren in those two years, where Ricciardo in turn drove in the two following years (2021 and 2022).
Ricciardo says of Sainz’s current situation: “Carlos knows that this is his last season at Ferrari. At the same time, he also knows that the issue is basically over. It won’t change any more. So all he can do is continue to sell himself as well as possible.”
Sainz put in a strong performance in the Ferrari SF-24 at the season opener in Bahrain last weekend. In qualifying (P4) he was 0.1 seconds slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc. In the race, he finished third on the podium. Leclerc, who has a contract with Ferrari until the end of 2026, finished fourth after problems.
“Carlos obviously had a great race in Bahrain,” Ricciardo also remarked. And so the Australian, whose contract with Racing Bulls also expires at the end of 2024, is convinced with regard to Sainz: “Things will come together as the season progresses. I’m sure he will find a cockpit.”
“The best thing he can do is just keep attacking and try to get good results,” says Ricciardo about Sainz. Incidentally, the Australian has a similar view of Lewis Hamilton’s situation in his final Mercedes season.
“The same applies to him,” says Ricciardo. “Okay, he might have a bit more security because he already knows where he will be driving next year. Nevertheless, he still has a job to do this year. Who knows, if Mercedes gives him a really good car, he might even be able to fight for the world title.”
In conclusion, Ricciardo says of Sainz and Hamilton: “I think both of them will attack as hard as ever. Even though Lewis already has a contract and Carlos doesn’t yet, I don’t think their approach is any different. Because the only thing we are all really good at is driving fast and attacking. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re paid for. “
