After plying his trade in the midfield of F1 for almost the entirety of his career, Carlos Sainz got his big break when Ferrari came calling. Three years into his stint with the legendary Italian outfit — where he proved to be a match for his teammate Charles Leclerc — the #55 driver was all but certain that he was going to get an extension after 2024.
Those dreams were dashed when Lewis Hamilton announced his arrival to the team from 2025 onwards. Looking back at this, Sainz claimed that not getting that contract extension with the team was probably the biggest test he’s faced in the sport.
“I was told at the end of January, beginning of February that I was not going to continue with a team that I was 99% sure I was going to continue with going into that winter,” Sainz told Tom Clarkson on the Beyond the Grid podcast. “It was a massive shock to my hopes and system,” he added.
Despite this setback, Sainz did not have time to dwell on his misfortune. Rather, he needed to reset himself to get into the cycle of training again and go into the season with a mindset to win. And win he did.
In his last season with Ferrari, the Spanish racing ace has racked up two wins — taking his total to four with the team from Maranello. While it has been a roller coaster of a season for the 30-year-old, he will finish fifth in the drivers’ standings in 2024 (equalling his best result with the team).
H0w Sainz conquered adversity to have a dream ending with Ferrari
Sainz began the season on a high with a podium in the opening race of the season in Bahrain. This put momentum on his side, but things were going to take an unfortunate turn. Going into round two at the Saudi Arabian GP, the Spaniard suffered from appendicitis, forcing him to sit out for the weekend.
However, he did not let his misfortune bring him down as he made a sensational comeback by winning the Australian GP and finally ending Max Verstappen’s winning streak in the process. That said, things again took a turn for the worse when he took a big hit during Qualifying for the Chinese GP.
Sainz still persevered, however. He took an utterly dominant win in the latter half of the season at the Mexico City GP. “When you have a target in your head…the mind is a very powerful tool to overcome these [adversities],” he concluded.
