Carlos Sainz has hinted that Ferrari aren’t listening to his feedback ahead of Williams move

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Carlos Sainz is approaching his final 10 races as a Ferrari driver. The Spaniard, who lost his seat to Lewis Hamilton, has signed for Williams for 2025.

When Fred Vasseur informed him in February that Ferrari wouldn’t renew his contract, Sainz vowed to push until the final race. And he was one of the standout drivers in the early rounds.

The energised 29-year-old scored podiums in each of the first three races he started. Most notably, he won the Australian Grand Prix just two weeks after missing the Saudi Arabian GP with appendicitis.

While he hasn’t quite been able to recapture that level since, his performances remain creditable. He’s beaten Charles Leclerc in five of the 12 races both have finished, and trails him by just 15 points in the standings despite his Jeddah absence.

When Leclerc won in Monaco at the end of May, it looked as if he and Sainz could bring home the constructors’ championship. But Ferrari, who were only 24 points behind Red Bull after that double podium, have regressed since.

An upgrade package at the Spanish GP induced serious bouncing, compromising the car’s aerodynamic performance. They’re now a clear fourth in the competitive order.

Carlos Sainz hints Ferrari didn’t heed his concerns about bouncing

Speaking to The Race last month, Sainz hinted that Ferrari didn’t listen to his feedback. He’d warned them about the bouncing issues before they intensified.

He said: “I have my own theory about it. Obviously, I have been complaining about bouncing before the upgrades.”

• READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Sainz will no longer be able to influence the long-term direction of the Ferrari car given that he’s heading elsewhere. Leclerc’s concerns will naturally be the priority at this point.

Ferrari have been reliant on mishaps elsewhere to score podiums in recent times. Sainz grabbed third in Austria after the collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, while Leclerc inherited P3 at Spa when George Russell was disqualified.

Why Charles Leclerc sometimes ‘hated’ racing against Carlos Sainz

Over at Williams, James Vowles may build around Sainz. He wants to take the iconic British team back to the front of the grid and he now has a three-time race-winner to lead that project.

However, Alex Albon believes Sainz won’t be able to win until 2027, a sobering reality for a driver who will feel he’s done little wrong in the past few years. He was the only non-Red Bull winner in 2023, of course.

Leclerc admits he ‘hated’ partnering Sainz at times. That’s because they often had different views on their wheel-to-wheel battles, but they were always able to resolve things quickly.

Jolyon Palmer says Sainz deserved a Red Bull seat and has called his Williams move ‘underwhelming’. His tense relationship with Verstappen at Toro Rosso in 2015 may have counted against him in this regard.