Ferrari has not started 2025 as well as they would have liked. Some even missed Carlos Sainz in the first few races. Not because Lewis Hamilton didn’t know what he was doing, but because the car and the Spaniard were one. They understood each other well and, despite the difficulties in beating McLaren and Verstappen last year, it was clear that the Spaniard knew how to get the most out of it, race after race, lap after lap. The proof came in Australia, after his appendectomy, and in Mexico.
Ferrari preferred to part ways with Carlos Sainz to sign Lewis Hamilton
In both races, in fact since the start of last season, Carlos Sainz already knew that he would not be racing for Ferrari in 2025. The bombshell news from F1 and Hamilton shook the foundations of the sport in general. It was a unilateral decision: Maranello preferred to let Sainz go to sign Lewis Hamilton.
It was a somewhat cold farewell for both parties. Not because the Spaniard didn’t know how to deal with the news, but because the red team left the Madrid native with an uncertain future. The driver, however, more than fulfilled his obligations. He achieved two victories and fought head-to-head with Charles Leclerc, even managing to position himself ahead of the Monegasque for much of the championship. He finally finished fifth, but had one of his best years.
It is here, more than a year later, that Marc Gené has spoken about the departure of the now Williams driver, but also about what it means to swap Carlos for Hamilton. And, as he points out, it’s not all about the results on the track. Here, Ferrari ambassador Marc Gené reinforced the positive aspects of having Leclerc and Hamilton on the team: “I don’t think you can have a better lineup,” he confessed.
Marc Gené is clear about Carlos Sainz’s departure
“I think it’s part of the DNA, we all dream of one day driving a Ferrari or sitting in a Ferrari, and I’m very happy that the most successful driver in history, Lewis, alongside Michael, has wanted to fulfill this dream,” Gené told the F1 podcast, Beyond The Grid.
In addition, praising the Monegasque driver, he said: “He was Carlos’ teammate, a very diligent driver, technically very good, very organized, who works very hard.” “He was Sebastian’s teammate, he has been lucky to have two very good teammates, one of whom is a world champion,” he added.
Regarding the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, Marc Gené admitted that it hurt him that it was instead of Carlos Sainz, although he believes that Ferrari did the right thing. “Of course, I feel sorry for Carlos, I am Spanish and I have a very good relationship with him, but when you have the opportunity to sign Lewis, and when it is a mutual love story, you can understand the decision,” he said.
The truth is, however, that Carlos Sainz has proven during his time at Ferrari that he is one of the great drivers on the grid, one of the greatest talents in Formula 1. His four victories in red show that he is a driver to be reckoned with. Not only because of his wins, but also because of the qualities that make him important.
“I don’t think you can have a better lineup”
Fast, competitive, skilled, daring, and consistent, Marc Gené also points out the injustice that was done to him, leaving him under the radar and not taking his great potential into account. “He’s a very fast, very intelligent driver who makes very few mistakes. It was a real privilege to work with him,“ explained Marc Gené in the documentary broadcast by DAZN, Carlos Sainz, una inteligencia sobrenatural (The Operator).
“He’s technically very good. What’s more, in situations such as wet weather, damp tracks, changeable conditions… he’s extremely good,” said the Ferrari driver. “He has proven that he is one of the few drivers who knows how to overtake Max. He is extremely complete,” he added. ‘He hasn’t always been given his due, because he is a potential world champion,’ Gené made clear. ‘And now I think no one doubts it, but he had to do something as brilliant as the race in Mexico for people to value him as highly as a top Formula 1 driver,’ he continued.
At this point in the year, Lewis Hamilton’s much-hyped signing is not delivering the results dreamed of by the tifosi. In fact, they are not even second. They are fourth with 78 points, 100 behind the leaders, McLaren’s Piastri and Norris, who remain at the top.