Carlos Sainz: Past Rivalry with Max Verstappen Wouldn’t Impact Red Bull Partnership

Carlos Sainz has expressed confidence that a partnership with Max Verstappen at Red Bull could have worked successfully if the team had opted to bring the two former Toro Rosso teammates back together. Following the announcement that Sainz would be leaving Ferrari at the end of 2024 to make way for Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard quickly became a potential candidate for Red Bull’s 2025 lineup.

Despite speculation that old tensions with Verstappen might have influenced Red Bull’s decision not to sign Sainz, the driver, who will be heading to Williams, believes their shared history wouldn’t have affected their relationship in 2025.

Reflecting on their shared journey to Formula 1, Sainz acknowledged the intense rivalry he and Verstappen shared at Toro Rosso in 2015. Both drivers were young Red Bull juniors, competing fiercely for a chance to advance to the senior Red Bull team—a promotion Verstappen ultimately achieved in early 2016. However, Sainz believes that both he and Verstappen have moved well beyond their early competitive days.

“I think I would get on well with him. We were 16 and 19 years old back then. We’ve matured a lot since then,” Sainz told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. He noted the unique environment at Toro Rosso, designed to test drivers’ competitiveness. “At Toro Rosso, they put you in a team and say, ‘Fight each other, then we’ll see who’s the best and who gets promoted to Red Bull!’ That’s the reason why Toro Rosso exists,” he explained. Sainz added that the dynamic would have been different in a team-focused setting, as he’s demonstrated in his relationships with his most recent teammates, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

Addressing rumors that his relationship with Verstappen influenced Red Bull’s decision, Sainz made his stance clear. “If my relationship with Max was the reason why I didn’t end up there, then I would say that there would have been no problems,” he stated, asserting that if Red Bull based their decision solely on that factor, “it would simply be wrong.”

When asked about his mental resilience compared to Verstappen and Norris, Sainz suggested that public perceptions don’t always reflect reality. Verstappen is often seen as self-assured, while Norris tends to share a more introspective side with fans. Sainz, however, believes that drivers can shape their public personas, often intentionally. “As a driver, you can always play with how you are viewed from the outside,” he said, cautioning against relying too heavily on public perceptions. He added, “Drivers are quite capable of manipulating the public image in a certain way.”