Carlos Sainz, the driver ditched by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton, believes his old team could now be even better placed to return to the summit of Formula One with the former world champion on board. Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes, with the 40-year-old set to make his debut for the Italian giants at next month’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix as he goes in search of a record-breaking eighth drivers’ world title.

Sainz made way for Hamilton’s move, with the 30-year-old Spaniard now lining up for Williams instead in Melbourne on March 16 after spending three years driving alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.

But Sainz, speaking at British team Williams’s 2025 launch at Silverstone on Friday, said: “When I left, I did feel that both Ferrari and Charles were ready to fight for a world championship, and with Lewis joining that is only going to increase.