Carlos Sainz Reveals Why He No Longer Sees Lewis Hamilton As “His Idol”

Carlos Sainz made a shocking confession that he did not see Lewis Hamilton as his idol in Formula 1 anymore, rather as a rival.

Carlos Sainz Reveals Why He No Longer Sees Lewis Hamilton As “His Idol”

Carlos Sainz (via XPBimages), Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

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Carlos Sainz was unexpectedly snubbed by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 season. Even though Sainz was performing great with the Italian constructor, he had to switch to Williams this year. Now, as Hamilton suffers from an extremely woeful debut year with Maranello, the Spaniard opened up on the reasons why he did not think so highly of the seven-time champion anymore.

Lewis Hamilton has endured a difficult time with Ferrari in the first 17 races and does not even have a single podium finish to his name. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz has had a decent year compared to Hamilton, and he has even scored his first podium finish with the team. As such, Sainz now viewed the Briton differently, even though he once considered him to be his idol in Formula 1.

Carlos Sainz noted that Lewis Hamilton was now his competitor as the latter stole his Ferrari seat and was unable to perform well. Sainz reckoned that if he weren’t in Formula 1, the seven-time champion would still be one of his idols. The Spaniard recalled watching Hamilton back when the former was just ten years old, and he won his first driver’s title in 2008.

For me, honestly, it’s because he’s my competitor, but if I were not in F1, he would be one of my idols, When I was 10 years old is when he arrived in Formula 1 and he became world champion in 2008.

Carlos Sainz said on BBC Radio

Carlos Sainz reminisced that he was just 12 years old when Lewis Hamilton was fighting with the likes of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa on the F1 track back then.

Back then, Hamilton was one of the idols for Sainz, and he admired him deeply. However, fast forward to now, the two are competitors on the F1 track, and the Spaniard seems to still have an upper hand despite being kicked from Ferrari.

I was 12 years old, and that’s when I started watching Formula 1, when he was racing Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and everyone. He used to be one of my idols and one of the people that I looked up to, but now he’s one of my competitors, 10, 15 years later.

Carlos Sainz added

Carlos Sainz asserts Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari woes ‘not his business’

Carlos Sainz was understandably disappointed after being snubbed by Ferrari in 2025. Still, Sainz did not give up and hoped to achieve success with Williams. Now, the Spaniard’s podium finish has helped prove the Grove-based constructor’s potential to succeed in the near future. As such, the 31-year-old isn’t concerned with Lewis Hamilton and his current woes, but rather his future at Williams.

Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (via XPBimages)
Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (via XPBimages)

Speaking on Lewis Hamilton’s problems with Ferrari, Carlos Sainz had a blunt answer. He insisted that it was none of his business to care about what other drivers and teams were doing.

Rather, his focus was only on his chances to succeed at Williams and having good opportunities to score good results. Sainz highlighted that he was delighted to score a podium finish with the team on the first possible opportunity.

What everyone else does is not my business, to be honest, What I care about is that the first opportunity that I had to score a podium with Williams, and the first opportunity Williams had to score a podium, we took it, we scored it, and there it is.

Carlos Sainz noted.

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton could do with much better results in the 2025 season. Hamilton has failed to achieve any podium finishes so far, and it only seems to get worse with every passing race. Now that the 40-year-old has shifted his focus to the 2026 season, he can only hope to emerge as a winning force by then. Now, time will tell about how the coming season plays out for the seven-time champion.

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