Carlos Sainz is set to part ways with Ferrari at the end of the season and with it bring an end to his four-year partnership with engineer Ricardo Adami.
Adami has been the main race engineer to Sainz and is often heard over team radio speaking to him during a Grand Prix, and while the pair have enjoyed some funny exchanges of the years they have also grown close professionally.
The pair will contest their final race together at Ferrari in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before Sainz is replaced by Lewis Hamilton, and the Spaniard goes to Williams.
Sainz said he understood the reason why Ferrari chose to replace him with Hamilton, however, Adami also believes that it says nothing bad about his character when speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast.
Carlos Sainz a ‘hard worker’ focused on ‘details’ says Ferrari engineer
Drivers often grow close to their engineers as they are the first point of contact if there is an issue with the car, making the working relationship rather unique.
During their time together at Ferrari since joining in 2021, Sainz has managed five Grand Prix victories, including his first at Silverstone and his iconic comeback victory at Melbourne earlier this year.
Although the Spaniard has been out-qualified by Leclerc on all four occasions they have been teammates, Adami believes he is one of the hardest-working drivers in the paddock.
“I say, he is a very hard worker. The level of details that we are looking together and developing the car and the setup, I would say that is his strength,” said Adami.
“What I’ve noticed is the cause and action, so he’s able to understand technical stuff and then applying driving. That is not easy, you know, it’s easy to say, but then to do it is another thing.”
Red Bull did Carlos Sainz a ‘favour’ by overlooking him for 2025 seat
Sainz became a free agent when the Hamilton news came through at the start of the season, which led to months of speculation over where he would end up on the grid.
Red Bull emerged as a possible seat amid a poor run of races for Sergio Perez, and now Sainz has revealed that he was available to them to sign for six months.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Audi also showed interest and wanted Sainz as their primary driver alongside Nico Hulkenberg, while Alpine also put in a late bid for his services after Flavio Briatore returned.
Sainz ultimately went with Williams due to the nature of the project and James Vowles convincing him that it was a team that has a chance of getting back to winning ways in the near future.
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