“There’s nothing better” - Carlos Sainz’s advice for Lewis Hamilton ahead of Ferrari move

Carlos Sainz has told Lewis Hamilton to “enjoy” his time as a Ferrari F1 driver ahead of his move next year.

Hamilton will replace Sainz at Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season alongside Charles Leclerc.

It means this weekend’s F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Hamilton’s final race for Mercedes, while Sainz will bow out of Ferrari after four years.

Speaking in the FIA press conference on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, where Crash.net are present in the paddock, Sainz was asked if he had any advice for Hamilton ahead of his big move.

While Sainz was quick to point out that a driver of Hamilton’s calibre doesn’t need “advice”, he did have a nice message for his fellow driver.

“No, honestly, I don't think a seven-time world champion that has changed teams multiple times or a few times in the past needs my advice,” Sainz said.

“The only thing I can obviously recommend him or tell him is to enjoy it. It's an incredible place to be part of and an incredible place to drive and feel like a Formula 1 driver.

“I believe he will get an incredible treatment by the tifosi and by all the supporters, engineers, mechanics, everyone involved in Ferrari and enjoy it because there's nothing better than being a Ferrari Formula 1 driver. And yeah, I'm sure he's going to enjoy that.”

Will Ferrari regret replacing Sainz with Hamilton?

At the start of the year, replacing Sainz with Hamilton was a no-brainer.

Hamilton finished third in the 2023 F1 drivers’ championship and was clearly a step ahead of his teammate.

Fast forward to the end of 2024, Hamilton has been comprehensively out-performed by teammate George Russell.

Russell leads 18-5 in the qualifying head-to-head and sits ahead in the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton has recently admitted he’s “just slow” following a torrid weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix.

On the other hand, Sainz has enjoyed another strong year with the Scuderia.

While it’s undeniable Leclerc has had an edge during their four years together, Sainz has never been consistently beaten to a point where he’s been effectively a number two driver at Ferrari.

In terms of on track performance alone, you can Sainz doesn't deserve to be replaced.

But when a driver of Hamilton’s calibre becomes available, it’s understandable that Ferrari couldn’t say no.

Ferrari and Frederic Vasseur will be hoping 2024 has been just a blip for Hamilton and that the magic that we’ve seen occasionally is more frequent next year.