Damon Hill says Carlos Sainz ‘sadly’ can’t compete with one ‘huge’ Lewis Hamilton trait

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Carlos Sainz’s accomplished victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix has reignited the debate over whether Ferrari should have signed Lewis Hamilton. Sainz has arguably driven at a higher level than Hamilton this year.

Both drivers have won two races, with Sainz also victorious in Melbourne in March. Hamilton won his home Grand Prix at Silverstone and then inherited victory in Belgium when George Russell was disqualified for breaching the weight limit.

In the championship, Sainz is one spot ahead (fifth versus sixth), but the gap between the two is a hefty 51 points. He’s scored seven podiums to Hamilton’s four.

It must be stressed that the 30-year-old is driving a quicker car. In that sense, it may be better to compare the two drivers with their teammates.

As you’d expect given that Ferrari have favoured him, Charles Leclerc leads the head-to-head by an overall score of 24-13 (qualifying and races combined). By contrast, Hamilton trails George Russell 26-11.

Of course, Ferrari made their decision before the season had begun. They know Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of F1, with seven world championships to his name.

Damon Hill says Lewis Hamilton’s ‘name’ may have earned him Ferrari seat

Speaking before Sprint qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, 1996 world champion Damon Hill explained that Ferrari didn’t simply sign Hamilton for sporting reasons. He recalls the spike in the Scuderia’s share price after they announced his arrival.

That reflects Hamilton’s status as one of the most marketable athletes on the planet. To his credit, that’s largely down to his achievements on track.

Still, Hill says Sainz can feel hard done by. He’ll justifiably feel he’s been a strong teammate to Leclerc over the past four seasons.

“You can understand the Ferrari position,” Hill said. “The name of Lewis is huge. As we know, the shares jumped on the announcement of him going here. It’s a big story.

“It’s Formula 1, and sadly, those things are a factor in the sport. Hard luck on him. He probably feels he’s done absolutely as well as Charles has.”

Lewis Hamilton shares what Ferrari have done to ‘interest’ him this year

Hamilton will be delighted by what he’s seeing at Ferrari this year. The Italian marquee are in contention to win the constructors’ championship for the first time since 2008 – the year he won his maiden title.

Fred Vasseur has steered the team to five wins and 18 podiums, leaving them just 29 points adrift of leaders McLaren. And they could be nearly 200 ahead of Mercedes after the Sao Paulo GP.

Hamilton has been ‘interested’ by Ferrari’s progress, as he told the media in Thursday’s press conference. His move to Mercedes in 2013 was masterfully timed and he’ll hope for a repeat.

The 39-year-old looks unlikely to sign off with a final victory for the Silver Arrows before Abu Dhabi. Mercedes won’t bring any more upgrades after a series of accidents for Russell.