Carlos Sainz SLAMS Red Bull for creating ‘immature’ duel against Max Verstappen in 2015

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen had always been fierce rivals and the Spaniard let in on the story behind the competitiveness between the two.

Carlos Sainz SLAMS Red Bull for creating ‘immature’ duel against Max Verstappen in 2015

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, image via IMAGO

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen both made their debut in 2015. The pair were teammates at Red Bull‘s sister outfit and a fight for the seat at the senior team evolved as the season progressed. Though this has been the tale of the Austrian giant’s sister team, the Spaniard lashed at this ideology for creating an immature duel between two young teammates.

The fortunes of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen have been polar opposites. Though the pair made their debut together, one is the reigning world champion and the other finds himself moving to a backmarker team on the grid.

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While Sainz’s luck and the unfortunate timing of his Ferrari axing is majorly to blame, he is still regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid. Moreover, concerns regarding the Spaniard being a tough opponent to Verstappen at Red Bull drove Horner & Co. away from signing him.

Subsequently, the 30-year-old gave an insight into how things worked during his rookie season at Toro Rosso (now VCARB). He was not content with the way Red Bull managed the team and condemned their way of forcing a duel between him and Verstappen to take forth.

With Max, there was rivalry, but at that team (Toro Rosso), they wanted to create a duel at all costs to determine who could go to Red Bull. We were 17 and 20 years old, still immature.

Carlos Sainz said (via Corriere della Sera)

Despite the tensions between the pair in their initial days as teammates, both drivers have remained respectful to each other since then. Thus, their relationship is supposed to grow stronger over the following years.

Carlos Sainz revealed his biggest trouble during his Ferrari stint

On the other hand, Sainz was beaten across all metrics by his former teammate Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. The pair remained closely matched in terms of points scored. However, the Monegasque was more often than not the better driver during a Grand Prix weekend.

Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz, image via IMAGO

This disparity was heightened by the introduction of the ground effect regulations. Carlos Sainz struggled to get in a groove with the new driving style that Leclerc flourished with. Moreover, it took the four-time race winner two seasons to dial in his driving style to match his teammate.

The beginning of 2022, I thought I couldn’t drive anymore. I had to completely change my style and after that I became much stronger.

Carlos Sainz said (via Corriere della Sera)

On the other hand, Sainz would be repping to make the most out of the 2025 season. He would be driving for Williams and aim to build the team from the ground up. So, the Spaniard would probably not be seen at the sharp end of the field for the following few years.