Carlos Sainz admits to having a bittersweet feeling about his 'final' outing with Ferrari.

While teammate Charles Leclerc admits to feeling "hurt" having failed to secure the title for Ferrari, it was a bittersweet day for his teammate, who drove a typically strong race all the time aware, as he heads to Williams, that it is probably going to some time before he has a truly competitive car again.

"I'm not going to lie, my last laps, as much as I was pushing like hell for this team," said Sainz. "I was already starting to feel things in the car and trying to say, 'remember how this feels. because tomorrow and Tuesday I need to remember why is this car quick in this corner and why does it feel good!' Because I know probably what I'm going to find tomorrow and Tuesday needs some margin of improvement in the corners that I was feeling the car.

"This sums up that I'm already looking ahead," he added. "I'm extremely motivated for the challenge that I have ahead of me. Today is a day to try and enjoy as much as possible with the team as my last day in red. We still have some days in Maranello coming up, but obviously my competitive mind is already looking forward to Monday and Tuesday and to see how I can make that Williams car faster."

Asked how it felt to be leaving Ferrari after four seasons, he said: "Strange. A bit emotional, I'm not going to lie.

"Probably, I would say it was more emotional the last time that I jumped in the car, on the grid," he added. "I knew that was obviously going to be my last race with a group of people that I've enjoyed these last four years. The last time that I would jump in a Ferrari, probably, and I was just feeling emotional.

"I tried to remind myself to try and enjoy the race as much as possible and to give the absolute maximum for this team. Jumping out of the car, I already had the bittersweet feeling.

"I did get emotional at some point today," he admitted. "I'm not going to tell you exactly when or how. It's a feeling that I save to myself and for my team.

"Maybe it's all a bit of acting, and I'm acting like I'm not emotional at all," he smiled. "I've learned from Brad Pitt who is here this weekend.

"I tell you, I've been emotional. It's just up until today, there was too much of a job to do and too much of a thing to fight for. So your brain doesn't allow you to get emotional because you care more about winning and giving the team a constructors' championship than your emotions itself. Let's say, your competitiveness takes over. But today there were moments that I got emotional and luckily you guys didn't get to see it."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ffracer, 14/12/2024 20:23

"Like many here, I had a lump in my throat watching Carlos driving his last, fast, consistent laps in one of two Prancing Horses. How did this happen again?! A model teammate, it seemed, everywhere he went. He was good at Toro Rosso and then loved at McLaren. He seemed part of the fabric at Ferrari, good for the team... until he wasn't. He gave Toro Rosso an ultimatum (his Dad) and they they stayed loyal with the wunderkid, Max Verstappen. He jumped from life with a great teammate in Lando Norris, he helped rebuild rising McLaren to Ferrari, warned about a selfish Charles Leclerc - Vettel's professional reserved comments spoke volumes, the facts showed that if Charles helped the team instead of arguing with them via radioblasts, Vettel and Ferrari could have been champions... Carlos went up against Charles too many times and once Fred Vasseur took over, the Birel ART alumni connections facilitated the Hamilton-Leclerc-Vasseur alliance. The seven time champion to Ferrari is mega and good for F1. I verily believe it was the comments from Carlos Sainz 's father, after his Paris-Dakar win, was the one that set all this in motion. When he made the comment - where he thought his son would look good in an Audi F1 car - I'm sure he believed he was helping his son with his stalled Ferrari contract talks... but it could only be perceived as a dagger to Ferrari. Leclerc showed off his latest Ferrari supercar to adoring fans and the Sainz camp threatens with Audi... why Carlos? Threatening an Italian team was the most prudent thing to do and it was another ultimatum gone bad. So sad, he got a handle on the last few Ferraris and drove brilliantly... tragic. "

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2. Posted by Chester, 13/12/2024 12:54

"@Endre, while Vowles appears to be excellent, and he is far and away my favorite team principle, I don't see Williams challenging any team too much. I have had an Alonso "iron in the fire" hope for much too long now to take up the hope for Sainz- in vain."

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3. Posted by Endre, 12/12/2024 13:31

"Guys, look at the positives. This will truly help Williams get back to the front. If McLaren could do it, why not them? They have now all the right people in the right places, Carlos will learn even more race craft along the way with technical development and who knows, in a few years, he can challenge for the title. I don't think he could have done that at Ferrari with Leclerc next to him."

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4. Posted by kenji, 10/12/2024 1:34

"@ Chester...I too think that hiring Hamilton was a mistake. Carlos is the real deal. He comes 'sans thespian attributes'. We'll just have to wait and see where Hamilton slots in but he'll need to get mega results to justify the investment for on track prowess.That said, he may have been seduced by a very fat cheque and promise of star billing. The increased share price certainly covered his re[ortedl costs but was it all a 'dead cat bounce'? Hopefully Charles gets total equality. All the reported Hamilton tear shedding belies the fact that this was a voluntary defection due to his dissatisfaction with his 'Mercedes family'. "

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5. Posted by Editor, 09/12/2024 14:31

"@ Chester

I believe Ferrari would have been better off releasing Leclerc."

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6. Posted by Chester, 09/12/2024 13:03

"To me, this is the saddest moment of the season. Many may disagree, but I believe Ferrari made a large mistake replacing Sainz with Hamilton. "

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Sainz reflects on emotional, bittersweet day

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