Opinion: With Hamilton to Ferrari, what’s next for Carlos Sainz?

February 1st 2024 will go down in Formula One history with the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's surprising move to Ferrari for 2025. In scenes that resembled the announcement of Hamilton's 2014 move from McLaren to Mercedes, Formula One fans across the globe sat in shock as they digested the big news that has seemingly kicked off the 2024 season. Hamilton, himself, has made no secret of his desire to one day drive for the prestigious Scuderia, and, with the Brit reportedly "shopping" around for a change of scenery in 2025, should we be as surprised as we are? Of course, this marks the end of one of the MOST successful partnerships in Formula One between Hamilton and Mercedes. It is, in theory, a very big deal.

But, we find ourselves left with the question as to what will happen to Carlos Sainz - the driver Hamilton will be replacing. With other Ferrari driver; Charles Leclerc, getting an extension to his current contract in recent weeks, there was zero word on Sainz, apart from rumours in the media suggesting that "contract talks had halted," for unknown reasons.

Sainz needn't be overlooked by other teams. With his proven ability to race wheel to wheel, win races, consistently score points and strategise, shouldn't he be on the mind of several team principles up and down the field? Quite possibly he already is. But, with the Sainz family reportedly in talks with Audi, who are set to join the grid as a Sauber rebrand in 2026, this could play a pivotal role as to whether he is racing or on the sidelines in 2025. But of course, in pure motorsport fashion, rumours are already rife as to where the young Spaniard will find himself next.

As a Carlos fan, not knowing his immediate future in Formula One is daunting. But, I don't think this is the end of his nearly decade-long F1 career. With only twenty seats on the grid, and a good percentage of them already locked in for 2025, his options are limited. Limited, but there, despite the fact that many seem to be overlooking his numerous achievements in the sport to date. I will gladly take this moment to remind you that he was the only non-Red Bull winner of 2023.

So, what are his options, I hear you ask? First and foremost there is the seat at Mercedes vacated by Hamilton. A sought after seat in Formula One, many drivers will have their eye on this one. Then, there is Red Bull. With Sergio Perez's seat contract up at the end of this upcoming season, would the Red Bull team be interested in reuniting Sainz with his old Toro Rosso team mate; Verstappen. Or, what about Stake F1 Team? They're the one's being taken over by Audi, after all. But, with plenty of other racing drivers also vying for a Formula One seat, Carlos can be sure that his experience may give him that all important edge.

However, only time will tell and give us an outcome. Maybe his destiny is in another series. Luckily for Sainz he has a whole F1 season to negotiate and make impressions. I'm excited to see what he achieves in 2024. Maybe losing his Ferrari seat is the drive (pun not intended) he needs to, what do they say? "Kick some ass."

Race Review: Diriyah Eprix 2024

Formula E graced our screens once again this past weekend with the first double header of Season 10. And, with this year's pecking order and championship contenders yet to be decided, Diriyah may well have been pivotal to this year's championship battle.

Starting off proceedings, race one was shaping up to give us an immense battle for the lead, with reigning world champion; Jake Dennis, double world champion; Jean-Eric Vergne and championship favourite; Mitch Evans, all gunning for the win. Alas, even with early attack modes and what was looking to be a strategic drive from Vergne, Dennis stretched his lead to achieve the biggest winning margin in Formula E history. But, where was Evans, I hear you ask? Well, after a strong start to the weekend, team orders and a costly mistake cruelly snatched away the Kiwi driver's first podium of the season. Could Diriyah have shown the first signs of tension between Evans and Jaguar as well as Evans and teammate; Nick Cassidy? I hope not. But, to rub salt into the wound, Cassidy would go onto win race two, while Evans finished in a dismal and lonely tenth.

Despite the battle out front and a bit of action towards the end, race one was another mediocre race in this Formula E season. However, the best was yet to come. Kind of.

Dan Ticktum, best known for his overly animated radio messages (and attitude), kicked off the drama in race two, with a pit stop before lights out. Yup, you read that correctly. Eventually he DNF'd and was joined by rookie - Jehan Daruvala - who lost his brakes, and not a rookie - Sam Bird - who damaged his suspension/steering rod in a botched overtake on cars ahead of him. And, you thought that was the fun part, huh?

What made Race Two a race was the return of overtaking; something Formula E is renowned for and something that has been missing so far in Season 10. Up and down the field, with the help of attack mode, the cars were racing as close as ever. Maybe Stoffel Vandoorne's failed attempted at activating attack contributed to this? Regardless, it was fun.

I've already ruined the surprise by telling you Cassidy won this race. But in reality, he nearly didn't. Hard racing meant drivers found themselves conserving energy by the end and the battle for the lead became at least a twelve horse race. It was shaping up to be the battle of the century but in proper motorsport fashion, it failed to come to fruition. A sigh of relief could be heard from the Jaguar camp. Cassidy is impressive so far this season. Are we really surprised? The only driver to finish on the podium at every race, as well as leading the championship? Like the race, this year is his to lose.

So what's next in Formula E? After three disastrous races, can Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa turn his season around? Can DS Penske keep their momentum going into the next race? Can Evans take a challenge to Cassidy? What a shame it is that we have to wait until 16th March for the next race in Brazil. Either way, things are looking interesting.

Dreaming of Formula One - Should Young Drivers Set Their Sights Elsewhere?

Young racing drivers all over the world dream about making it big in the world of motorsport. They dream about following in the footsteps of legends such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel etc - all of whom made their names in Formula One. However, as most motorsport aficionados know, there is more to motorsport than F1, but do you really hear of young drivers declaring their ambitions to race in the World Endurance Championship, Touring Cars or other single seaters such as Formula E or Indy Car? Not really. It's a shame but with F1 being known as the "pinnacle of motorsport," there is no real surprise to what the youngsters are striving for.

I recently read an article about how ex-Williams reserve driver - Jack Aitken, almost regretted having Formula One has his sole goal in motorsport. It got me thinking and has been the inspiration behind this short post. Using Aitken as an example, he took the more traditional route in paving his way to Formula One; taking part in GP3, Formula 2 and becoming a member of some of the more prestigious Formula One junior academies such as Renault before being appointed as a reserve driver for Williams and getting a race outing during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, replacing George Russell who stood in for an unwell Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. For Aitken, this would be his only race outing in Formula One before leaving the series entirely in 2022.

In a recent interview with The Race he said:

"So I was in the Renault academy for four years - I would say for the first three years of that there was never any thought of taking my career in another direction. Possibly a mistake. When I talk to younger drivers now I'm like 'you really should consider that stuff [outside of F1], at least just open doors elsewhere... Because statistically speaking it's more likely, bro'."

For years and years, as fans we have watched young drivers miss out on their dreams through no fault of their own. They have given up their livelihoods (and tonnes of money) to get there, just to be shown the door. And, with (currently) only twenty seats on the Formula One grid, a large number of drivers with never ending funds, and motorsport as popular as it is ever been, the chances of making it to the big time is almost nothing but luck of the draw. Take the upcoming 2024 F1 season, not a single rookie sits on that grid. Not even the most recent Formula 2 champion; Theo Pourchaire. That pretty much sums it up.

However, success has found those who have had no choice but to change the direction they were heading in their careers. Take Antonio Felix da Costa as a prime example. Tipped to race for Toro Rosso in the 2014 Formula One Season, da Costa found himself missing out to his younger Red Bull Junior companion - Daniil Kvyat; who had just won the 2013 GP3 crown, compared to da Costa's 3rd in that year's Formula Renault 3.5 championship. For da Costa, his hopes of one day racing in Formula One diminished and, instead, found himself racing in DTM and Formula E; even winning a championship in the latter series. And, it's not just those who missed out on a chance in Formula One who's race craft has come in handy elsewhere, with numerous ex-F1 drivers finding success elsewhere. Examples being Sebastien Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr and Jean-Eric Vergne; all of whom are now Formula E champions alongside da Costa.

But alas, with the coverage and "hype" that Formula One receives (Netflix's Drive to Survive and F1's own channel in the UK, as examples) kids will want to strive for nothing more than Formula One and emulate their heroes. But, as motorsport continues to grow in popularity, I hope that some of the more underrated series get their time because honestly kids, F1 is great but motorsport is a big world and there is plenty to explore!