Ferrari’s decision to replace Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 Formula 1 season has led to a noticeable loss in consistency, according to The Race’s F1 analyst Edd Straw. This shift has affected the team’s ability to benchmark driver performance and gather diverse technical feedback, key to car development and race strategy.
Throughout the current season, seven-time world champion Hamilton has struggled to keep pace with teammate Charles Leclerc and has demonstrated inconsistent results. In qualifying sessions, Leclerc holds a clear upper hand, leading Hamilton 7-3 so far.
Reflecting on Hamilton’s performance in the Ferrari SF-25, Edd Straw stated,
“What Ferrari lost with Hamilton, you know, a lot of gains, and Lewis is a great driver, but it lost a benchmark of consistency, that it knew where both Charles and Carlos were, they both kind of gave different depths of information and different types of feedback on a car.”
—Edd Straw, The Race F1 pundit
Carlos Sainz’s Steady Presence During His Ferrari Tenure
Carlos Sainz spent four seasons with Ferrari from 2021 through 2024, during which he was recognized for his remarkable consistency in both qualifying and race performance. His steadiness often provided the team with reliable data and performance expectations.
In Sainz’s debut year with Ferrari, he outscored Leclerc by finishing fifth in the drivers‘ standings with 164.5 points, compared to Leclerc’s seventh-place finish with 159 points. Subsequent seasons saw a close fight between the two teammates, underscoring the competitive environment Sainz maintained within Ferrari’s driver lineup.
Carlos Sainz’s Efforts at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix
Although deemed a loss in terms of consistency for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz showed commendable performance in his new role with Williams at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. Despite facing difficulties in qualifying due to an incident that forced an early exit in Q1, leaving him to start near the back of the grid, Sainz managed to secure a valuable point by finishing 10th in a highly competitive midfield battle at the Gilles-Villeneuve Racing Circuit.
Reflecting on his race, Sainz shared,
“If you had told me yesterday after starting 16th that we would get a point, I would be quite proud and happy. But the reality is that I’m not.”
—Carlos Sainz, post-race interview via Autosport
He also commented on the ongoing challenges, stating,
“We have to learn better because it’s a few races in a row now that we cannot race on Sunday and it makes our Sunday a bit tricky.”
—Carlos Sainz
Current Standings and Upcoming Races
After ten rounds of the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz finds himself 13th in the drivers’ championship, holding 13 points, while teammate Alex Albon is positioned seventh with 42 points. The focus now shifts to the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix, where both drivers will aim to improve their standings and help their team gain momentum in this ongoing campaign.
