What Fred Vasseur has now said ‘off the record’ about Carlos Sainz returning to Ferrari one day

Follow us on Google Discover

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur will know that the pressure is on for things to improve within the team quickly after a disappointing 2025 campaign.

Fred Vasseur’s job at Ferrari appeared to be in danger at one point, with the Scuderia seemingly taking a backward step compared to last season.

The constructors’ championship doesn’t look good for Ferrari, with Mercedes overtaking them after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and McLaren more than 300 points ahead.

More worryingly, both of Ferrari’s drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, have yet to win a Grand Prix this year.

Hamilton is still waiting for his first podium, excluding Sprint Races, which has raised questions about whether Ferrari made the right choice to hire him in place of Carlos Sainz.

Guenther Steiner believes some Ferrari staff regret signing Hamilton, although nobody at the top of the team will ever admit it.

Sainz scoring his first podium of the season with Williams in Baku was a brilliant moment for a team that hadn’t enjoyed a top-three finish in over four years.

It makes what Vasseur said ‘off the record’ about Sainz even more intriguing, with next year’s F1 driver market expected to be extremely frenetic.

READ MORE: Williams star Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Fred Vasseur said ‘off the record’ that the ‘door wasn’t closed’ for Carlos Sainz to return to Ferrari

A report from the Spanish outlet MARCA has shared more information about Vasseur’s feelings towards the four-time race winner.

The report suggests that Hamilton not giving eighth-place back to Leclerc in Baku used to be considered a ‘mortal sin’ at Ferrari.

It’s not something that has regularly been organised between Ferrari in recent years, although Rubens Barrichello knew all too well what his role was alongside Michael Schumacher back in the early 2000s.

Vasseur admitted that ‘the door wasn’t closed’ on Sainz ever returning to Ferrari.

At an ‘off the record’ breakfast for the Spanish media ahead of the British Grand Prix, Vasseur made this claim for the first time.

Although a return is ‘not on the table’ right now, anything could happen in the future.

Hamilton controls a clause in his Ferrari contract that would see him extend his stay at Maranello into 2027.

Whether he wants to activate that clause if he and the team aren’t winning is another matter, which could pave the way for a return for Sainz if Ferrari aren’t interested in promoting Oliver Bearman.

The talk surrounding Mercedes’ 2026 power unit might make it a more difficult decision for Sainz to leave Williams to return to Ferrari.

But Vasseur doesn’t want to rule out any potential options in the driver market, as he will know that Ferrari are going to need a replacement for Hamilton at some point in the future.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

The Jenson Button prediction that might convince Carlos Sainz to stay at Williams

Williams team principal James Vowles wouldn’t have expected the team to secure a podium this season, when so much of their focus is on 2026.

However, the progress the team have made over the past 12 months under his stewardship has been remarkable and suggests that they’ll be serious contenders next year if Mercedes build an engine as powerful as many people expect.

Jenson Button thinks plenty more podiums are on the way for Williams after their triumph in Baku.

Alex Albon is in phenomenal form this year, and if Sainz can consistently reach the same level, then Williams will once again be a force to be reckoned with.