The watching world learned what the 2024 season meant for Carlos Sainz Jnr when Ferrari made its bombshell announcement that he would lose his seat to Lewis Hamilton at the end of the year. Already a multiple race winner, Sainz was now on the driver market.
Sainz made a strong start to this crucial year. He started the season on the podium with only the dominant Red Bulls ahead of him. After an appendectomy forced him to miss round two, Sainz returned in style to win the Australian Grand Prix. In Japan he again completed the podium behind the Red Bull drivers.
He wasn’t able to sustain that form against a team mate of Charles Leclerc’s quality. Sainz followed Leclerc home in Shanghai, Miami (where he was penalised for colliding with Oscar Piastri) and Imola. While Leclerc won in Monaco, Sainz was incredibly fortunate to reach the podium, as the red flag on the first lap erased the consequences of another tangle with Piastri (he enjoyed a similar get-out-of-jail-free card after crashing in qualifying at Shanghai).
At times it felt like the pressure of the driver market situation was taking a toll on Sainz, particularly in his eagerness to put one over Leclerc. The pair had a few run-ins over the course of the year, notably in Spain and Las Vegas, though in the latter case Ferrari’s management of their drivers was questionable.
Carlos Sainz Jnr
| Best | Worst | |
|---|---|---|
| GP start | 1 | 20 |
| GP finish | 1 (x2) | 18 |
| Points | 290 | |
During the middle part of the season, when Ferrari briefly lost their way with the SF-24, Leclerc usually showed Sainz the way. However Sainz picked up an opportunistic third place in Austria and showed great feel for the changing conditions at Silverstone. The same could not be said for his performances in the rain-hit races in Canada and Brazil, which were easily his weakest weekends of the year.
Sainz ended the season in better shape. He should have joined Leclerc on the podium in Baku where he went out in a late collision with Sergio Perez, then completed a Ferrari one-two in Austin. He grabbed his chance to take a stylish final win for Ferrari in Mexico, and pushed Lando Norris hard in the season finale as Ferrari fell short in their bid to beat McLaren to the constructors’ title.
It may be some time before Sainz will have a car that allows him to fight at the sharp end again. But his 2024 performance should leave no one in any doubt that he deserves one.
RaceFans’ driver rankings are based partly on the scores awarded to drivers for their performances in each round as well as other factors.
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