2 days Ago By Henry Valantine
Damon Hill dubbed Carlos Sainz a “thoroughly brilliant racing driver”, and the 1996 World Champion sees it as a “compliment” that he wasn’t signed for Red Bull. Sainz will head to Williams for the F1 2025 season and beyond, and while the Spanish driver admitted it “hurt at the time” to not land an immediately front-running seat for next year, he has since “come to peace” with it. Sainz spoke of holding talks with every team on the grid with a seat available while he was a free agent, with the most competitive, Red Bull and Mercedes, ultimately opting to renew with Sergio Perez and promote promising rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli respectively.
The 30-year-old told Sky F1 : “It hurt at the time, we all have egos, and I have a driver ego, and I couldn’t understand it at the time. “I still personally cannot understand certain choices that people have done, but at the same time, it creates even more of a challenge in me, and it even makes me more excited for Williams.” But in response to that interview, the 1996 World Champion believes Sainz has shown himself to be a valuable driver to anyone on the grid, with the former Williams driver seeing it as a “compliment” that Red Bull didn’t sign him – with Max Verstappen firmly holding ‘number one’ status as it stands.
👉 F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid? 👉 Revealed: How McLaren convinced Carlos Sainz to join Williams “He’s thoroughly professional. I think that any team will benefit from having Carlos there,” Hill said. “I mean, he’s clearly looking over his shoulder with maybe a small tear in his eye as he’s leaving Ferrari, he’s contributed so much to them.
“I don’t know how you can fault him, really. I mean, maybe he’s not as fast as Charles [Leclerc] on occasions, but he’s a thoroughly brilliant racing driver. “So on he goes to another team.
I take it as a compliment that he didn’t get into Red Bull.” Given he found out he was being replaced at Ferrari before the season began, Hill acknowledged Sainz was in a difficult position, but added he could take solace in the fact that it will be the most successful driver in the sport’s history coming to Ferrari in his stead rather than someone he considers a lesser driver. Hill told a previous episode of the Sky F1 podcast: “I think it’s very tough.
I’m sure he feels he’s put in his heart and soul into Ferrari, and he hasn’t really left them short in any way. “Well, they’ve chosen this enormous entity, which is Lewis Hamilton. His reputation, his fame, His results.
You know, it’s very difficult to feel annoyed that you’ve been replaced by someone that good. “The only consolation is that the guy that replaced you was a seven times World Champion with over 100 Grand Prix victories, and then you can, kind of, I suppose, console yourself that you weren’t replaced by someone you considered less than you.” Read next: Revealed: The key issue still frustrating Mercedes ahead of W16 introduction.
