Carlos Sainz hints that he wanted Andrea Stella to join him at Ferrari when he left McLaren

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Carlos Sainz doesn’t have any regrets about his decision to leave McLaren for Ferrari at the end of 2020. But he does wish he could have poached some of the top engineers from Woking.

After replacing Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, Sainz won four Grands Prix in as many seasons. He was controversially let go at the end of 2024 to make room for Lewis Hamilton.

When Sainz left McLaren, they were still an upper midfield team. But after returning to the front in the summer of 2023, they won back to back constructors’ titles in 2024 and ’25.

Which driver will be the biggest disappointment of 2026, other than the Aston Martin duo?

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Carlos Sainz wishes he could have taken top McLaren engineers to Ferrari

Sainz explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast that he never lost faith in McLaren despite choosing to leave. Instead, he was drawn to fulfilling his ‘dream’ at Ferrari.

But he knew, looking at McLaren’s engineering personnel, that they would ‘keep climbing’ the pecking order. In fact, if he had the option, he would have taken the top minds with him.

Andrea Stella previously worked for Ferrari between 2000 and 2014, working with Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. He is widely seen as one of the most influential figures behind McLaren’s resurgence.

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“When Ferrari puts an offer on the table, it’s very difficult to say no,” Sainz said. “My dream was to be a Ferrari driver.

“But realistically, I remember telling my team when we were leaving McLaren, ‘This team is actually a very good race team. These people are going to go up, they’re going to keep climbing.’

“I know how good Andrea Stella is, I know how good [technical director] Pete Prodromou is and I remember leaving that team and having two, three or four names that if I could have taken them with me to Ferrari, I for sure would have taken them.

“I knew they were doing things well and they were really good people that I enjoyed working with a lot.”

Why Carlos Sainz wasn’t jealous of Lando Norris last year

Sainz was also asked whether he looked at Lando Norris last year and thought ‘that could have been me’. The Spaniard saw his former teammate win the world championship as he battled in the midfield with Williams.

But he pointed out that his move to Ferrari paid off, delivering 25 podium finishes. Had he stayed at McLaren, he would have spent years wondering why he didn’t move to Maranello.

• READ MORE: Oliver Bearman details how ‘incredible’ Carlos Sainz’s feedback was when he raced for Ferrari

He said: “In 2021, in Ferrari, I achieved my first podiums. In 2022, I won my first race. In 2023, while I was still winning races in Ferrari, McLaren were still almost dead-last in the qualifying and race of Bahrain.

“What I would have thought back then [was] I would be winning races with Ferrari. I think it was the right thing to do at the right time and the only thing I feel is happiness for the team.”

Sainz is ‘angry’ with Williams’ regression during winter testing, having seen the team squander a chance to join the elite. He knows 2026 will be a difficult year but is willing to give James Vowles time.