Carlos Sainz Sr., father of Carlos Sainz and two-time world rally champion, has commented on Ferrari’s decision to replace his son with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Sainz was left without a seat at Ferrari last year and later joined Williams. In 2025, the Spaniard outperformed Hamilton and achieved two podiums, while the Briton had none.

Carlos Sainz Sr. emphasized that neither he nor his son criticized Hamilton:

“It’s not our problem, it’s not Carlos’ problem. Ferrari was close to winning the constructors’ championship in 2024, but this year the team has faced difficulties. My advice, and Carlos agrees, is to focus on your work. The world is already too complex to worry about everyone. Let people draw their own conclusions,” he said.

At the same time, Sainz Sr. believes that his son can become a world champion:

“I have a lot of confidence in him and I want to believe that it is possible. I am his father and I have seen how talented he is. If he is in the right place at the right time, he can really achieve this. Everything has to match perfectly. He works and fights for it,” he added.

The rally champion also noted that success depends on the car and the team:

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball to know how teams are preparing for radical changes in F1. It all depends on the engine and the chassis. It would be good for Williams to produce a competitive car and fight for the podium. Now they can be at the bottom, middle or top of the table and under the new rules the stronger teams have more resources.”

Formula 1 pilots’ salaries have long been record-breaking, and the championship’s leading stars regularly appear on the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

The current F1 squad is one of the richest in the history of the series, which is directly linked to the sharp increase in the championship’s global popularity in recent years.

But large contracts account for only a fraction of total revenue. Advertising deals, bonuses, business ventures and investments have allowed individual pilots to amass fortunes that far exceed the earnings of most of their peers. According to Racing News 365, it was these Formula 1 drivers who managed to build the largest financial empires in the history of the championship, leaving others far behind.

The richest F1 drivers in history

1) Michael Schumacher – $790 million
2) Lewis Hamilton – $304 million
3) Fernando Alonso – $264 million
4) Kimi Raikkonen – $254 million
5) Niki Lauda – $203 million

Former Ferrari driver Arturo Merzario has spoken harshly about Charles Leclerc and his role in the Italian team.

The Italian, famous for saving Niki Laudi from a burning car after an accident at the Nürburgring in 1976, said:

“Leclerc got a seat at Ferrari that he didn’t deserve at the time. He’s a very good racer like any other. If you put more than one name in a hat and take one out, they’re all pretty much the same. He’s not special.”

This season the Monegasque edged out seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix to take all seven of Ferrari’s podiums and claim the team’s only pole position. But for Merzario this does not matter:

“There’s no point in boasting about being ahead of a seven-time world champion like Hamilton, because Lewis took his foot off the gas because he felt he wasn’t integrated into the team. Why would he give 110% under those circumstances?”

Merzario concluded his words with an even stronger statement:

“If Enzo Ferrari were alive, he wouldn’t even walk through the doors of Maranello, I’m sure. He wouldn’t even be accepted as a customer.”