Five-pole F1 driver told ‘he will never become a world champion’, he’s another Jarno Trulli

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Lewis Hamilton is one of three world champions on the current Formula 1 grid. He’s joined by Max Verstappen, who currently holds the crown, and Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton is the most successful driver in the sport’s history, having matched Michael Schumacher for seven titles and surpassed him for race wins (105 vs 91). Verstappen could one day topple the Englishman, now firmly on course for a fourth consecutive triumph.

Remarkably, it’s been nearly 20 years since Alonso won the first of his back-to-back championships in 2005. Oliver Bearman, who will join the 2025 grid with Haas, wasn’t even born at that point, but the Spaniard continues to hold out hope of winning that elusive third.

The sport has seen more decorated grids in the past. Back in 2012, there were as many as six world champions in the field – Hamilton, Alonso, Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen.

But that’s not to say that there aren’t multiple championship-calibre drivers in the 2024 pack. Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri are all race-winners who have shown that kind of potential.

Verstappen regards Leclerc and Norris as future champions, while Vettel reckons Russell is next in line. It’s one of the most talented generations of drivers the sport has seen in its recent history.

Tim Coronel doubts Carlos Sainz will ever get ‘serious chance’ to win F1 title

Another driver who will firmly be targeting championships is Carlos Sainz. Sainz has built up an impressive CV during his time at McLaren at Ferrari, winning three races, bagging five poles and scoring 23 podiums.

However, he’s lost his spot at the front of the F1 grid after Ferrari struck a sensational deal for Hamilton. Sainz’s contract was running out, so the team released him to make room.

The 29-year-old would have hoped to replace Hamilton at Mercedes, or even return to the Red Bull family. But neither of those teams made an acceptable offer, and he found himself stooping to second-from-last Williams instead.

Writing in his mid-season review series for formule1.nl, racing driver Tim Coronel ruled out Sainz winning a title during his career. He rates him highly, but doesn’t think he’ll have the car required.

“What I do know is that Carlos Sainz has been the most difficult teammate of Max Verstappen since he entered Formula 1,” Coronel wrote. “That was at Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015.

“Max was not at the level he is now at then, but the same goes for Sainz. In my eyes, Sainz is typically one of those drivers of whom you think: he will never become world champion, but he could have been.

“A bit like the calibre of Fisichella, Trulli. I am seriously a fan of Carlos Sainz, but I am afraid that he will never get a serious chance at a world title.

“Look, he is still growing as a driver. He is ready to sit in a good car, but it is not available to him. And then you end up in a Williams. Well, then it is not going to happen.”

Ferrari chairman names the key advantage Lewis Hamilton has over Carlos Sainz

Coronel is right – Sainz made life ‘difficult’ for Verstappen during their rookie campaigns. While the Dutchman scored more points (49 vs 18), Sainz beat him in eight out of 19 races and pipped him 10-9 in qualifying.

But that was part of the problem. Christian Horner didn’t want to reunite Sainz and Verstappen because the competitive tension was so high.

As for the Trulli comparison, Sainz has already surpassed the Italian for wins (one), poles (four) and podiums (11). The former Toyota driver competed in 252 races between 1997 and 2011.

However, you can make the case that they belong in broadly the same bracket. BBC Sport journalist Andrew Benson points out that top F1 teams don’t truly rate Sainz, otherwise they would have signed him this year.

In the eyes of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, Hamilton’s experience is a big advantage over Sainz. With it comes greater ‘consistency’, which makes all the difference in the current competitive landscape.