![Carlos Sainz [on pit wall] was forced out of Ferrari in favour of Lewis Hamilton](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Carlos-Sainz-Ferrari-F1.webp)
Ferrari may be feeling pangs of “regret” about replacing Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton, former Formula 1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner has claimed.
The Spaniard was let go by the Scuderia at the end of 2024, having spent the entire season aware of his fate after announcing it would sign Hamilton in February.
After having several options open to him, Sainz chose to switch to Williams and has endured a difficult year, having scored just 21 points prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
But in Baku, Sainz scored an emotional first podium with the Grove-based squad, a stark contrast to the Maranello squad’s fortunes.
Hamilton was dumped out in Q2, and led team-mate Charles Leclerc home in eighth and ninth places respectively, summing up the story of the team’s season.
Hamilton has been unable to extract a great deal of performance from the SF-25, a car which has yet to yield a single Grand Prix victory.
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner was asked if there might be feelings of remorse from those in the Italian giants who opted to let Sainz go.
“I think some people in the team do,” he said. “I think obviously management cannot feel regret because you would be admitting that you did something wrong, and you cannot do that, because I’m sure that some of the guys there are feeling regret, because Ferrari finished eighth and ninth in Baku.
“Carlos Sainz, now with Williams, finished third, so it’s like, I guess the guy feeling best about it is Carlos Sainz.”
With Hamilton now hoping for a Ferrari resurgence in 2026, Sainz is firmly fixed on elevating Williams back to the high echelons of Grand Prix racing.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport Week, Sainz explained that he is trying to utilise his years of experience to help the team progress.
“It’s sharing that experience with Alex, JV and the whole engineering team and everyone in the factory to try and put everything together to be better,” he said.
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