Jacques Villeneuve thinks Ferrari are missing Carlos Sainz after spotting ‘really strange’ pattern

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Carlos Sainz will be far from satisfied with his debut Formula 1 season at Williams. After another non-score at the Dutch GP, he has slipped to 17th in the championship.

That would be the lowest position of Sainz’s career. And yet, Williams are on for their best season in eight years.

The Grove outfit have already scored 80 points, largely thanks to Alex Albon, who seems to have reached another level with race-winning competition alongside him. Sainz will reap the rewards next year if they can hang onto the extra prize money.

Meanwhile, it appears he left Ferrari at a good time, even if it was involuntary. The Scuderia may be second in the championship, but they’re edging closer to a winless season.

Jacques Villeneuve says Carlos Sainz always makes his team better

Speaking on Sky Sports’ F1 Show, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve outlined the ‘really strange’ Sainz pattern he’d spotted. He says the Spaniard’s teams always suffer from his departure.

Toro Rosso sunk from seventh to ninth after his exit, Renault dropped a place to fifth and McLaren slipped out of the top three. Ferrari may be on course to retain second place, but the gap to the leader has grown exponentially.

On the other hand, Villeneuve says Sainz is once again displaying his capacity to make teams better, even if he isn’t the one picking up the headline results at Williams.

The 31-year-old joined Ferrari at the start of 2021 and won four races in their colours, including two last season.

“The car doesn’t have performance,” Villeneuve said of Ferrari. “Something is wrong, and they don’t seem to be capable of developing it.

“Maybe they’re missing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, ultimately, and we’re seeing who was working at the team.

“We keep saying, every time Carlos joins a team, the team goes up. Every time he leaves it, that team goes down.

“That happened again – Williams has been going up, Ferrari has been going down. The same happens to every team he goes to. That’s really, really strange.”

What does Carlos Sainz think of Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari?

The trend Villeneuve outlines could be coincidental. Perhaps the teams in question haven’t signed sensible replacements.

While Pierre Gasly was a hit at Toro Rosso, Brendon Hartley never looked like the right fit, and Daniel Ricciardo always looked uncomfortable in the McLaren. Similarly, Lewis Hamilton is facing calls to retire amid a growing narrative that he’s in decline.

Hamilton’s form only dropped off after Ferrari had signed him, but perhaps they should have anticipated it given that he’s the second-oldest driver on the grid.

Speaking in June, Sainz put Hamilton’s struggles down to an ‘adaptation’ process. Having changed teams five times himself, he’s well aware of how difficult it can be.

He insists he takes no ‘pride’ from the fact that his replacement has been a statistical downgrade. But perhaps it will help his stock in the driver market going forward.