Carlos Sainz shares the unusual moment he signed his Ferrari contract ahead of the 2021 season

For the first time in five years, Carlos Sainz won’t be appearing on the Formula 1 grid in Ferrari’s famous red overalls in 2025.

Before Carlos Sainz even had a chance to prove that he should be handed a contract extension by Ferrari, he was already out.

Several weeks before the opening race of the 2024 season in Bahrain, Ferrari announced that they had secured the services of Lewis Hamilton from 2025 onwards.

Sainz lost his seat to the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1, although that wouldn’t have softened the blow.

The Spaniard made his F1 debut in 2015 but never seemed at home with any of the previous teams he raced for before joining Ferrari in 2021.

Spells at Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren had been decent but unspectacular before winning his first Formula 1 race for the Scuderia in 2022.

Sainz has explained why Ferrari replaced him with Hamilton and while he’s made peace with the decision, he faces a very different challenge at Williams next season.

Carlos Sainz signed Ferrari in his pyjamas after replacing Sebastian Vettel

After two years with McLaren, Sainz was offered the chance to join Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel moving on.

Sainz spoke about the events that led to him signing a contract with Ferrari in an interview with Autoracer.

Recalling the day the deal was confirmed, Sainz said: “As always, we had to work on different drafts of the contract, have a lot of meetings and with emails going back and forth between Madrid and Maranello.

READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

“In addition, everything had to be done by video call because Covid made it impossible to travel.

“That morning, I got up at eight o’clock and my father told me: ‘Take a pen, the Ferrari contract has arrived. And you have to sign it’.

“I was still in my pyjamas, but I signed it there and then.”

How does Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari career compare to Charles Leclerc’s after 2025 driver decision

Heading into 2024, Ferrari knew that both Leclerc and Sainz’s contracts were up for renewal.

Leclerc’s contract was extended in the final week of January and progress on Sainz’s Ferrari contract was progressing.

However, just a few days later, news of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari broke, leaving Sainz in the lurch.

During their four seasons as teammates, Leclerc has had the edge over Sainz, but they were one of the most well-rounded partnerships on the grid before the Spaniard was let go.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Leclerc finished 66 points ahead of Sainz in 2024, which is a smaller gap than between both McLaren and Red Bull drivers, but suggested that team principal Frederic Vasseur had made the correct choice in retaining the Monegasque driver.

Williams are excited for Sainz’s arrival given his reputation for helping develop F1 cars, something the Grove-based team desperately need.

The 30-year-old will be disappointed that he doesn’t get to enjoy the fruits of his labour next year, having played a key role in Ferrari becoming championship contenders.

Sainz now needs to get the better of Alex Albon and prove Ferrari made the wrong choice replacing him with Hamilton.