F1 News: Carlos Sainz gives unexpected response after beating Lewis Hamilton

Sainz, Hamilton, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

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Carlos Sainz gives unexpected response after beating Lewis Hamilton

Was Sainz saved by his move to Williams?

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 10 December 2025 16:27

Williams star Carlos Sainz has issued a surprising response to beating Lewis Hamilton on podiums after the conclusion of this year's F1 championship.

The Spaniard seemingly had his work cut out heading into the 2025 season and was not tipped to be a podium contender at the wheel of his new Williams machinery.

Sainz was left with no choice but to swap out Ferrari for Williams after the Scuderia opted to sign seven-time champion Hamilton to their ranks last year, with many viewing the switch as the beginning of the end of the 31-year-old's career.

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But Sainz has proved his doubters wrong and gone above and beyond expectations for his first season at Williams, picking up not one but two grand prix podiums with his new team.

In fact, after all 24 races of the 2025 campaign have come and gone, Sainz is still the last driver to have won a grand prix for Ferrari, a fact which only exacerbates Hamilton's struggles in red.

Sainz 'not satisfied' with Hamilton misfortune

Hamilton may have seven championships to his name but he has only managed to pick up a single victory in 2025, taking to the top step of the podium with Ferrari in the Chinese GP sprint.

For the first time in his esteemed career, he has now failed to step on a grand prix podium for an entire season, something which was recently put to Sainz by Spanish publication Marca.

The Williams driver was asked if he was satisfied with his 2-0 lead over Hamilton in podium finishes this year, and whilst the former Ferrari driver could have gladly taken the opportunity to gloat, he did quite the opposite.

“No, I'm satisfied with my two podiums. I'm not satisfied at all with someone else's misfortune," Sainz said.

"I'm satisfied that I got two podiums with Williams in Baku and Qatar, and another one in the Austin Sprint, and I'm satisfied to have done so when last year there were many doubts about whether I could achieve it.

“When I announced that I was going to Williams, I felt that some people felt sorry for me. It was a bit of a strange feeling. Some journalists, social media, I don't know, I didn't see it that way.

"For me, it was a new chapter, another opportunity, and when I arrived here at the paddock on Tuesday for the 2024 Abu Dhabi test, dressed in a white helmet and overalls, and I got into the Williams and got to work, I was only thinking about the future. Not the past.”

Ferrari Carlos Sainz Williams