Will Buxton is very impressed with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. The British journalist from F1TV reveals that he never expected the Spaniard to make it to Formula 1. The fact that he managed to do this was already a surprise, but Buxton also finds it special that the winner of the most recent Australian Grand Prix also did quite well as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Toro Rosso.
Sainz has certainly been in the spotlight at Ferrari in recent seasons. Not only was the Spaniard able to keep up with his highly regarded teammate Charles Leclerc with some regularity, but he is also able to beat the Monegasque more and more often. In Saudi Arabia, Sainz was unable to participate in the Grand Prix due to appendicitis, but in both Bahrain and Australia the 29-year-old was the first Ferrari driver to cross the finish line. And due to Verstappen’s bad luck, this even gave him his third GP victory.
The Spaniard has more than exceeded all Buxton’s expectations. The Brit reveals in The Red Flags podcast that he initially did not think much of Sainz. ‘During his time in the junior classes I never expected him to become the Formula 1 driver he is today or that he would have such a long F1 career. Carlos (Sainz, ed.) knows about this,’ Buxton immediately adds. “I actually didn’t think he would make it to Formula 1 at all.”
Comparison with Verstappen
From the moment Sainz was allowed to step up to Formula 1 and made his Formula 1 debut at the same time as Verstappen in 2015, the Ferrari driver has developed well. But the Spaniard was actually quick straight away, the journalist emphasizes. “People quickly forget how good he was compared to Max (Verstappen, ed.) when they were teammates at Toro Rosso,” says Buxton.
“I think Carlos (Sainz, ed.) is a phenomenal driver and at the moment it may be questionable whether Ferrari has brought in the right driver,” Buxton said, referring to the arrival of Lewis Hamilton to the Italian team in 2025. “Or whether they should have changed drivers at all,” the Brit wonders out loud.
