Carlos Sainz Sr has claimed Lewis Hamilton was the one who made an initial approach to Ferrari in the move that ended with his son losing his Formula 1 seat with the team.
Sainz was angling to earn a renewal to his existing Ferrari deal that expired at the end of 2024 when he was told the team had reached an agreement to sign Hamilton.
With incumbent Charles Leclerc having renewed his contract with Ferrari several months earlier, Sainz was the driver who had to depart to facilitate Hamilton’s arrival.
The Briton, who made his debut in red last week, utilised an exit clause in his previous Mercedes contract, signed in September 2023, to pen his “dream” switch to Ferrari.
Mercedes has since admitted Hamilton’s exit came amid the team’s reluctance to commit to the longer-term extension that the seven-time F1 champion had desired.
So while it was believed Ferrari Chairman John Elkann proposed the idea to Hamilton, Sainz Sr, who leaked the news to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, has suggested otherwise.
“I wouldn’t describe it as the Scuderia behaving badly,” Sainz Sr told El Cafelito. “The circumstances of the perfect storm have arisen.
“Ferrari was happy with Carlos but the possibility appeared because Hamilton himself produced it. It is he who approached Ferrari, then the circumstances arose.
“Perhaps that process could have been clearer, but then it would have been leaked and Ferrari did not want it to be.”
Sainz Sr hails Ferrari’s ‘fantastic’ parting gesture
Ferrari and Sainz parted on good terms, with team boss Frederic Vasseur even admitting that the cordial relationship has ensured that a reunion cannot be ruled out.
The Italian marque agreed to sanction Sainz a premature release from his contract to enable him to participate in the Abu Dhabi post-season test with new team Williams.
That preceded Ferrari hosting a private outing at its Fiorano test track which saw Sainz and his father drive the 2022 car that the Spaniard won his maiden F1 race with.
“But then they had a fantastic detail with [Sainz Jr], a gesture that they have not had with practically any driver in their history, which is the farewell,” Sainz Sr continued.
“They gave him a car, they invited me to drive in Fiorano with a Formula 1 [car].”
Sainz Sr, a two-time World Rally Champion and four-time Dakar winner, expressed that his outing in the Ferrari F1-75 that his son now owns was an “amazing” experience.
“I have no experience in any formula championship, very, very little, so for me it was a big thing,” he told The Sun.
“I really enjoyed it a lot. The power, the handling, and the braking is amazing.
“To have the chance to be there with my son, what Ferrari did for him, and invite me to drive together with him was really fantastic.
“It was an unbelievable day. I will never forget it because we really had good fun and obviously the experience to drive a modern Formula 1 car was unbelievable.”
READ MORE – How Lewis Hamilton’s opening week at Ferrari unfolded – and what’s to come
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