Vasseur hails ‘mega professional’ Sainz as he leaves door open to work with Spaniard again

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Frederic Vasseur has paid tribute to Carlos Sainz ahead of his move from Ferrari to Williams, saying he has “huge respect” for the Spaniard who has been “mega professional” during their time together.

Sainz is into the final few races of his stint at the Scuderia – whom he joined back in 2021 – after it was confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will replace him as Charles Leclerc’s team mate from next season.

THE STRATEGIST: How Sainz helped Leclerc beat McLaren – and the odds – to seal a famous Ferrari victory at Monza

It’s a chapter that has brought some of Sainz’s greatest moments in F1 so far, including five pole positions and three Grand Prix wins – the most recent of which was achieved at this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 01: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari SF-24 on track during

Sainz is contesting his fourth season with Ferrari, having joined them in 2021

Speaking at the recent Monza round, which marked the final race for Sainz as a Ferrari driver on Italian soil, Team Principal Vasseur took a moment to reflect on his contribution to the Maranello outfit.

“I have huge respect for Carlos, for what he did for the team in the last years, but mainly the last two years with me [as team boss],” Vasseur commented.

READ MORE: Sainz says ‘trust and belief’ from Williams convinced him to sign as he confirms Red Bull and Mercedes talks

“I can perfectly see what he did last year, mainly when we had trouble, he was able to push the team to come back with the pole in Monza, to win in Singapore. This pushed a little bit probably also Charles to react and he did [many] first rows [on the grid] in a row.

“He was clearly part of the recovery of the team last year and this season he’s doing a very good job. I know perfectly that the situation was not easy at the beginning of the season, but he’s mega professional.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 24: Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari walks in the Paddock prior to

Williams have signed three-time race winner Sainz for the 2025 season and beyond

“We had a discussion last winter and we agreed together to push until the last corner of the last lap [of the season] and he’s doing very well.”

Vasseur added that he would “for sure” like to work with Sainz again in the future, should the opportunity arise, as he repeated that the call to replace him with Hamilton “was not an easy one”.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘You have to take risk everywhere’ – Fred Vasseur on how he’s going to take Ferrari back to the top

“I’m more than pleased to have Carlos [in the team] and I will keep a very good relationship with him,” added the Frenchman.

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