Former Ferrari star suggests team rethinking Hamilton Sainz switch

A former member of the Ferrari team has suggested that the 2024 season will be a difficult watch for whoever decided to replace Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton.

Sainz has started his final season with Ferrari off in brilliant fashion, claiming at least a podium in all three races that he has participated in, and winning the Australian Grand Prix in dominant fashion.

READ MORE: Hamilton 'praying' for F1 rival following serious operation

The Spaniard is the only non-Red Bull driver to have claimed a main race win since the 2022 Brazilian GP, yet currently does not have a seat on the Formula 1 grid for 2025.

Hamilton, meanwhile, has started off the season in poor form, not finishing higher than seventh at any event so far and currently sitting down in ninth in the drivers' championship.

The Brit will head to Ferrari next season in the hope of being able to challenge for an unprecedented eighth world championship title.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Ferrari offered 10-year contract to champion driver

Ferrari regretting Sainz replacement?

Now, Toni Cuquerella, who worked in F1 for multiple teams as an engineer including with the Maranello-based squad, has praised Sainz for his stunning start to 2024.

Sainz has outperformed his Monegasque team-mate Charles Leclerc in all three races that they have both started together so far, yet Leclerc is the one that has recently signed a bumper new deal with Ferrari.

"I think that, if you take away the points, because there was a race that Carlos couldn't do, it is making Ferrari rethink whether they did the right thing or not," Cuquerella told DAZN.

"Whoever made the decision is going to have a bad end of the year."

Spanish journalist and commentator Antonio Lobato told the same channel that Sainz has responded better to his new car, following a 2023 season full of inconsistencies from the Ferrari team.

"Since the SF24 has arrived in the lives of the Ferrari men, Carlos feels much more comfortable, with much more confidence," he commented.

READ MORE: Hamilton backs Vettel to REPLACE him at Mercedes

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