Well, we will have to go looking for the Ferrari brain who decided to dispense with the services of Carlos Sainz and give the wheel of the red car of 2025 to Lewis Hamilton... The comparisons, in addition to being hateful, should cause embarrassment in the offices of thinking heads from Maranello: the brand new English signing was 9th in the Japanese GP in Suzuka, the Monegasque favorite finished 4th, and the disowned Madrid native, third podium in three races, with Australia's victory fifteen days ago and two third places positions, the one in Bahrain and the one yesterday in Suzuka, he confirms himself as the best driver in the rest of the world who is not Red Bull.
If his time in Japan had to be a showcase to find a team for next year, Chili should have no shortage of suitors.
Of course, the first two boxes on the podium had owners in advance: Red Bull retaliated for the Australian fiasco with a double, third in the four races, with a Max Verstappen who dominated from start to finish from pole, and with a Czech Pérez very solid who did not shrink to overtake Leclerc and Norris.
But the third step had several applicants: the Englishman's McLaren, Sainz's Ferrari and Leclerc's, in addition to the unknown of the Mercedes. The doubts were soon dispelled, when the McLarens melted the medium tires and switched to hard, and Norris gave up third position to Sainz on lap 11/53. The Madrid native, with neat driving, taking care of the tires – also favored by the low degradation of the SF-24 – and with a high pace, settled on the podium, although to do so he had to submit to the demands of the script changes of the strategies.
First, that of his own team with Leclerc, for whom he reserved a one-stop tactic, which allowed him – after keeping his medium tires for 27 laps – to climb from 8th on the grid to first and dream of the podium. . And then McLaren's changed strategy with Norris, which gave him options in the end.
“It was a tough race, eh, very strategic... At one point it seemed like everything was getting complicated for me, I thought I was going to finish 4th or 5th behind Charles and Lando, but in the end, in the last stint With new tires I felt very good, I was able to attack and make the necessary overtakes”, summarized Sainz, who after the second pit-stop (v. 37/53) found himself in 7th place, with the need to overtake on the track. to the two Mercedes, Norris's McLaren and his partner.
He bravely ate all four of them, first Hamilton and Russell when he came out to the pits, with 10 laps remaining he overtook his friend Lando, and two laps later, his neighbor. Who, just in case, received the clear message on the radio: “We are competing with Norris.” Ironic wink that Sainz the discarded is the first red pilot.
He then had Pérez 9 seconds behind, with 8 laps to go. He wouldn't reach it, but no one was going to take the podium away from him. And the pleasure of questioning Ferrari's decision, either. With one race less (that of Arabia, due to appendicitis), Sainz is 4th in the World Championship, just 4 points behind Leclerc.
“On the one hand, it is a shame not to continue next year given how well I am doing with Ferrari, with my engineers and mechanics, we are doing a job that cannot be asked for more, so it makes me a little angry.” having to leave,” commented Carlos. “But on the other hand, three podiums in three races opens doors for me and the possibility of going to another team to, I hope one day, be able to fight for that World Championship that I have been looking for at Ferrari for four years. Let's see what options there are... People already know how available I am... and how fast I'm going,” Sainz advertised.
Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz's replacement at Ferrari starting in 2025, had reasons to be angry: he finished 9th in Suzuka, after starting 7th, failing Mercedes' strategy at a stop with the hardliners, having to give in his position to his companion Russell and being overtaken by the noble class: they passed Sainz twice, Alonso and Norris.
So in the media attention corral, Hamilton had an unfriendly face and he didn't like the questions at all. Not even an aseptic "How was the race?" His response couldn't have been more sarcastic: "The race went well."
But when he crossed paths with the journalist it was when he was questioned about his near future. "Do you want to be with them (Ferrari)? Because they are faster..."
Hamilton spat out the answer: "Don't you have a better question?" And he left.
For his part, Fernando Alonso, who predicted to finish 9th, achieved a great 6th place, making the most of his strategy and his old fox's sense of smell. “I would say it is the best race in a year, since April 2023, and it is among the five best I have done. We have the fifth best car, McLaren and Mercedes are ahead, so we should be tenth; Yesterday we were fifth in classification, a miracle, and today, sixth, a great miracle,” said the Asturian.
