Ferrari swapping Carlos Sainz for hiring Lewis Hamilton with a $100 million offer made headlines all over the F1 world in early 2024. The Spaniard had impressed many onlookers with his Singapore GP win last year. This is because it was the only race where a non-Red Bull driver became the winner last year. Still, Ferrari has preferred to take up Lewis Hamilton with his 103 Grand Prix victories instead of continuing with Sainz who has only 3 race wins in F1. And while doing so, they kept the #55 driver in the dark about the team’s dealings with Lewis Hamilton.

The current Scuderia driver, naturally offended by how Ferrari ousted him, has revealed the ugly side of F1. According to him, the drivers here can lose out on their seats quickly despite putting in good performances and winning races like Sainz recently did at the Australian GP this year. SoyMotor quoted Carlos Sainz as he commented on how Lewis Hamilton’s deal with Ferrari was unknown to him until the very last hour. In the interview, Sainz dealt with the question whether the racers talk about the drivers’ market. Sainz revealed, “It [Formula 1] is a very hard sport in that sense. Nobody told me about [Lewis] Hamilton.”

Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari ousting has led to a lot of stir-ups in the drivers’ market. Many teams might have approached the Spaniard but he is biding his time before making a decision for 2025. This has somehow stagnated other drivers’ dealings since they are currently waiting to see which direction Carlos goes. Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, who are going to exit their teams ahead of next season, have voiced their thoughts on the situation.

Kevin Magnussen believes Carlos Sainz is the cork in his F1 bottle

Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari exit is a high-profile event that will pave the way for the future of a lot of drivers. His seat is being taken by Lewis Hamilton, which implies a seat at Mercedes is currently up for grabs. While Sainz’s name has been linked to the Silver Arrows already, other potential drivers like Magnussen and ex-Mercedes racer Valtteri Bottas are waiting on the sidelines. And they do not wish to make a move until it is clear what Sainz has to do.

Thus, when asked about why the F1 drivers’ market news had not started arriving yet, Kevin Magnussen said, “[Carlos Sainz] is the cork in the [F1 silly season] bottle!” Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas gave a more elaborate answer on this. He said, “It pretty much depends on what Sainz does. After that, many pieces of the driver market will fall into place.” The Finn also mentioned that the F1 teams are waiting on Sainz too before making their recruitment decisions.

While the names of Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Carlos Sainz are currently floating about in the F1 drivers’ market, a few others are also waiting for seats at any of the teams in the sport. These include Mick Schumacher, who got two years at Haas before going into a reserve role for Mercedes, and Esteban Ocon, whose contract with Alpine is ending this year.

Do you think any of these drivers will be the replacement for Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows next year, or will they make the rumors come true by choosing the rookie Kimi Antonelli in the end? Let us know in the comments below.