Gunter Steiner Exposes Ferrari’s “Regret” over Sacking Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton

Guenther Steiner insisted that there were definitely some feelings of regret at Ferrari for snubbing Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton.

Gunter Steiner Exposes Ferrari’s “Regret” over Sacking Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton

Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (via XPBimages), Guenther Steiner (via IMAGO)

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Lewis Hamilton has suffered from a dismal debut year with Ferrari in the 2025 season. The Briton has been unable to amass any notable results in the first 17 rounds so far. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has faced a similar fate and hasn’t been able to contend for race wins yet. As such, Carlos Sainz, who was brutally axed to make way for Hamilton, remains the latest race winner for the Italian constructor.

Now, ex-F1 team boss and Drive to Survive fame Guenther Steiner weighed in on the matter. The 2025 season is nothing short of a disappointment for Lewis Hamilton, as he is facing unexpected issues within the team. Moreover, Ferrari’s mediocre pace isn’t making life any easier for the seven-time champion.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz is having a much better season with Williams and has also scored his maiden podium with the Grove-based constructor. Ironically, Sainz has scored a podium with Williams before Hamilton could do so with a historic team in Ferrari.

Guenther Steiner reflected on Carlos Sainz’s positive weekend at the most recent Azerbaijan GP and compared it to Ferrari’s woeful outing in Baku. Sainz finished P3, compared to Lewis Hamilton’s P8 finish, which came after a controversial driver swap fiasco in the race. As such, the Italian insisted that there were definitely some sour feelings within the Italian squad.

Guenther Steiner insisted that Ferrari’s management team couldn’t express their regret on signing Lewis Hamilton. They couldn’t accept that they made a mistake signing the seven-time world champion. Regardless, the 60-year-old raised concerns that they were definitely feeling regret, more so after both drivers finished in P8 and P9 in Baku.

I think some people in the team do, I think obviously management cannot feel regret because you would be admitting that you did something wrong, and you cannot do that, because I’m sure that some of the guys there are feeling regret , because Ferrari finished eighth and ninth in Baku.

Guenther Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast.

Carlos Sainz did a ‘good job’ compared to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were great as teammates and barely clashed heads while on the track. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc have already suffered from multiple controversial situations. As such, Guenther Steiner recalled Sainz’s performance for the Scuderia and compared it to the 40-year-old’s current woes with the team.

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

Guenther Steiner explained that Carlos Sainz did a good job at Ferrari and was doing so at Williams as well. With the Spaniard, the Scuderia just needed to focus on the performance and not on other aspects that came after signing Lewis Hamilton. Since the Briton drew massive attention to the team, they also had to focus on the reasons behind Hamilton not liking the car and making changes to satisfy him.

I mean, Carlos was doing a good job. They wouldn’t have all the interference from outside of Lewis not performing, so the team could focus on going racing, making things better, instead of always trying to find out why Lewis doesn’t like the car.

Guenther Steiner noted.

Regardless of the current issues, Lewis Hamilton has already shifted his focus to the 2026 season and performing well by then. Now, time will tell about how the rest of the current year plays out for the seven-time champion and if he manages to emerge victorious in his ambitions with the Italian constructor. As things currently are, the 40-year-old might suffer from a season without any podium finishes.

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