The 2017 Toro Rosso STR12-Renault was a difficult car but Sainz scored points in the opening two races of the year, including seventh in China when the only driver to start on slicks on the wet track. He was seventh in Spain before holding off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes to finish sixth on the streets of Monte Carlo. A career-best fourth in Singapore and having already signed a 2018 Renault contract, Sainz switched to the Enstone-based team for the last four races of the season. He immediately finished seventh in the United States and ended the year ninth in the 2017 World Championship.
Sainz struggled to get to grips with the Renault RS18, especially in qualifying, and was unable to impose himself over experienced team-mate Nico Hülkenberg. He finished fifth in Azerbaijan but was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the season.
McLaren team leader
Instead, Sainz replaced compatriot Fernando Alonso at McLaren and enjoyed a healthy partnership with rookie team-mate Lando Norris as team and driver re-established themselves in 2019. Outqualified 10-9 by the Englishman, Sainz excelled on raceday and snatched sixth in the final standings on the last lap of the final race of the year. He took an excellent eighth in Austria after several late overtaking manoeuvres and came from the back of the grid again in Brazil to claim McLaren’s first podium finish since the 2014 Australian GP.
An upturn in fortunes could not have come at a better time for Sainz, who replaced Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari in 2021.
Moving to the front
The Spaniard’s debut season for Ferrari started with speculation, with many questioning his ability in comparison to new teammate Charles Leclerc. But any doubts were put to rest over the course of the season, with Sainz four podium finishes and eventually finishing above his teammate in the drivers’ standings.
In 2022, back-to-back podium finishes to begin the season earned Sainz a contract extension with Ferrari, which would see him race in red until 2024. This was immediately followed by DNF’s in Australia and at Imola, leaving Tifosi speculative of Sainz’ true potential.
But once again, Sainz proved his worth, taking a debut pole position and his first grand prix win at a drama-filled British Grand Prix. After a late safety car restart, caused by Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, Sainz took full advantage of his fresh tyres, jumping his teammate and disappearing into the distance.
By the end of the season, Sainz ultimately fell to fifth in the drivers’ standings, bested by the talents of George Russell and Sergio Perez in his pursuit for third.
In 2023, Sainz bounced back to form and earned a place amongst the very finest grand prix drivers the F1 grid had to offer. In the midst of overwhelming Red Bull dominance and the heightened form of McLaren, the Spaniard was still able to finish regularly inside the top five and captured an impressive victory in Singapore — the only non-Red Bull victory of the 2023 season.
Sainz’s form carried over into 2024 as first finished third in Bahrain, but was then forced to sit on the sidelines in Saudi Arabia having suffered from appendicitis. Nevertheless, he bounced back to take a brilliant victory in Australia and continued his run of red hot form, finishing third in Japan, fifth in China, Miami and Imola and third in Monaco.
The second half of the season saw Sainz begin to fall ever so slightly backwards, as the form of McLaren and his own team-mate, Charles Leclerc, began to eat into his points totals. Unfortunate crashes in Azerbaijan and Brazil soon meant that the Spaniard was out of the running for a top three finish in the drivers’ standings, but another brilliant victory in Mexico City soon swung the constructors’ title in Ferrari’s favour.
Ever a team player, Sainz continued to rack up good performances as the season drew to a close. Another podium finish in Las Vegas and a sixth-place finish in Qatar put Ferrari just 21 points shy of McLaren heading into the season finale, and Sainz remained vigilant in his pursuit of Lando Norris throughout the Abu Dhabi GP. The Spaniard was ultimately unable to do better than second, forfeiting the constructors’ title to McLaren, but reaching the podium one final time was the perfect way to sign off his time at Ferrari in style.
For 2025, Sainz embarked on a new chapter with Williams, joining the Grove-based team on a long-term deal alongside Alex Albon. In his first season, he helped drive clear progress, scoring 64 points, finishing ninth in the drivers’ standings and playing a key role in securing fifth for Williams in the constructors’ championship.
Highlights included two grand prix podiums – in Azerbaijan and Qatar – plus a sprint podium in Austin, underlining both his pace and his value as Williams worked to re-establish itself further up the grid.
