Fighting Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc in equal machinery, Carlos Sainz Snr doesn’t believe his son Carlos gets the recognition for his ability that he should.

Sainz Jnr has joined Williams for the F1 2025 season, his F1 career arguably moving backwards and not forwards.

Is Carlos Sainz undervalued in F1?

He made his debut in 2015 with Red Bull’s junior team, then known as Toro Rosso, and partnered Max Verstappen, who too was making his debut.

Since then, their careers – and best to say results – have diverged.

While Sainz has four race wins and a hat-trick of P5s in the Drivers’ standings having moved to Renault, McLaren and more recently Ferrari, Verstappen progressed through the Red Bull ranks to the senior team where he won 63 Grands Prix and four Drivers’ Championship titles.

Today he is being mentioned amongst Formula 1’s great, a driver who is predicted to challenge for the all-time record of seven World titles should he stay in F1 long enough.

As for Sainz, he’s now swapped the race-winning Ferrari team for the back-of-the-grid Williams outfit after the Scuderia opted to sign Lewis Hamilton in his stead.

Although Snr Jnr. spent months speaking with the likes of Mercedes about an F1 2025 race seat, ultimately when no contract was forthcoming, he made the call to secure his place on the grid and did so by signing with Williams.

His Father, Carlos Sainz Snr, believe the 30-year-old is undervalued by the F1 team

“I don’t think it’s given to him, the value and the quality that he has,” he told El Cafelito.

“He also coincides with a given moment with Verstappen. It is a moment when Red Bull chooses Verstappen. He stays a little in the shade.

Then he ends up driving for Ferrari, which is not easy, imagine being a Ferrari driver, driving for McLaren.”

Sainz Jnr. spent two and a bit years with Red Bull’s junior team amidst reports that tension between his father and Max Verstappen’s, Jos, was blocking a promotion to the senior before joining Renault.

From there he signed with McLaren and in 2021 joined Ferrari.

Sainz beat Charles Leclerc in their first year together before going on to win four Grands Prix with the Scuderia, including a much-lauded win at the 2024 Australian GP just 16 days after undergoing an appendectomy.

But after Ferrari’s decision to sign Lewis Hamilton for the F1 20255 championship, Sainz was left scrambling to secure his F1 future and, after months of deliberation, put pen to paper on a multi-year deal with Williams.

“I think Carlos’ best version is still to come,” said his father. “That’s my feeling.

“He’s a driver who takes the steps and gives the feeling that every year he brings out his best version. There are drivers who arrive very quickly, give it all and then they go. Carlos keeps improving every year.”

Sainz’s F1 2025 preparations began in earnest earlier this month when he paid his first visit to the team’s Grove headquarters and was warmly welcomed by his new team-mate Alex Albon.

“Welcome to Grove, Carlos! Our coffee is extra smooth,” he wrote in response to a social media post from Sainz.

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