Ferrari leave door open for Carlos Sainz return despite Lewis Hamilton arrival

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says he would welcome Carlos Sainz back to Maranello in the years to come, despite dropping him in favour of signing Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari announced in February that Hamilton would replace Sainz next season, and did so in the briefest of statements that didn’t even mention the Spaniard.

‘For sure’ Carlos Sainz would be welcome back at Ferrari

“Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract,” it read.

Sainz has since revealed his surprise at being dropped as he was in the process of negotiating a new deal with the Scuderia for 2025 and beyond.

“I was in the middle of negotiations with Ferrari, everything seemed to be going in the right direction and suddenly this news arrived to me,” he told Sky F1.

“It was completely unexpected and a huge turnaround in the way that suddenly my career was going to plan out.”

But despite his unceremonious axing, Sainz has buckled down for his final year in red to record five podiums, including a win at the Australian Grand Prix, with eight races still to be run.

The F1 2024 Ferrari team-mate head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

It has Vasseur applauding the Williams-bound driver who he says he’d be happy to see return to Ferrari in the years to come.

“Yeah, for sure,” he told the media including PlanetF1.com.

“Honestly, I have a huge respect for Carlos and what he did for Ferrari. As you know, this call was not an easy one.

“He’s doing a very good job. He was able to stay professional in these tough conditions.

“I can see perfectly what he’s bringing to the team, what he brought to the team last year and he was part of the recovery last year when we had a tough momentum in the summer.”

“I’m more than pleased to have Carlos and I will keep a very good relationship with him.”

This isn’t the first time that Vasseur has hailed Sainz’s work ethic and tenacity, doing so after the Spaniard bounced back from appendectomy to win the Australian Grand Prix just 16 days later.

“This winter we agreed together to push until the last lap of the season,” commented Vasseur.

“And he did a fantastic job. He was there in Bahrain, pushing the team also, and for sure Jeddah was a tough weekend, a tough weekend for Carlos, a tough weekend for the team.

“But the recovery is mega. You have to keep in mind that two weeks ago he was in the hospital. I think even Friday he was not 100 per cent sure to be able to drive.

“And after a couple of laps, he was on the pace, and this was part of the success – because you can’t give up one lap in free practice if you want to perform.

“For sure, it’s amazing. If you have a look on where he’s coming from nobody expected a result like this.”

Read next: Adrian Newey calls Max Verstappen ‘a bit out of order’ in key Lewis Hamilton battle