Passed over by Red Bull because of yesteryear\u2019s rivalry with Max Verstappen, Red Bull may have missed a trick as Jacques Villeneuve believes Carlos Sainz makes every team that he joins \u201cbetter every time\u201d.<\/p>\n
And if there\u2019s one thing Red Bull needs, it\u2019s a second driver who can push both Verstappen and the car\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
\u2018Every team he\u2019s been to, he\u2019s made the teams better every time.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sainz<\/a> and Verstappen were teammates in their first season in Formula 1 with Red Bull\u2019s second team, then known as Toro Rosso. <\/p>\n But tension between the drivers and notably the drivers\u2019 fathers \u2013 Carlos Sainz Snr. and Jos Verstappen \u2013 meant former Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko did not want to sign Sainz to Red Bull last year when he was dropped by Ferrari in favour of Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n \u201cThe atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic,\u201d admitted Marko. \u201cWith the configuration we had then, I didn\u2019t see a way to keep him with us, so Carlos went through Renault, McLaren and then he ended up at Ferrari.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSainz was almost at the same level as Max Verstappen\u2026 almost. But when we had to choose between Max and Carlos, it was clear what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n Sainz, who went on to sign a multi-year deal with Williams, was perplexed by the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a rivalry in our first year in Formula 1 at Toro Rosso, but it was a relatively healthy rivalry in terms of how we used to go about racing. And now we get on really well,\u201d he said earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that\u2019s the reason, I don\u2019t understand why they wouldn\u2019t want me next to Max, because I think we would actually be a very strong pairing in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n After all, says Villeneuve, Sainz has boosted every team that he has ever raced for in Formula 1.<\/p>\n F1 2025: The season\u2019s winners and losers<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0The results of the F1 2025 championship <\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0The final Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 Championship standings<\/a><\/p>\n A snapshot of that is Williams improving from ninth in the 2024 Constructors\u2019 Championship to P5 this past season, where Sainz claimed two podium finishes. His P3 in Azerbaijan was Williams\u2019 first full-race podium since 2017.<\/p>\n Villeneuve believes Sainz is a driver who can boost any team\u2019s performances.<\/p>\n \u201cThat probably didn\u2019t go down with him moving from a team like Ferrari to a team that last year was not in the top tier,\u201d he told the High Performance Podcast. \u201cBut seeing how the season\u2019s gone, he\u2019s probably very happy.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand, it\u2019s what he\u2019s done everywhere he\u2019s gone to. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen he was teammates with Max at Toro Rosso at the time, he was doing quite well. There was nothing to be shy about or embarrassed about. So he was doing well, and he came in very educated, very focused, a different upbringing than a lot of others.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery team he\u2019s been to, he\u2019s made the teams better every time.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the first half of the season, he was a little bit struggling himself pace-wise compared to his teammate until he made the car better.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made both drivers go faster, but it had a bigger positive effect on him than his teammate every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Quizzed on why Sainz is already to do that, Villeneuve replied: \u201cHe\u2019s working on the car. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n \u201cHe actually understands what the car is doing, and he\u2019s thinking about it, like Max, he\u2019s always thinking about racing and about the car.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows what he needs. And it\u2019s not a question of, there\u2019s understeer, there\u2019s oversteer. No, that\u2019s useless. That is completely useless.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are times when you have to adapt your driving to understand what the problem with the car is, so you can fix it, so you can go back to your normal driving style and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1997 World Champion reckons Sainz and Verstappen share characteristics that make set them apart from other racers.<\/p>\n \u201cMost drivers get out of the car, look at the data, and then they have the answers, but they don\u2019t actually have the question,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the answer is to give them the questions, and oftentimes you\u2019ll see them going in a completely wrong direction. But that\u2019s the modern way of racing.<\/p>\n \u201cMax is very old-fashioned in that, and I think Carlos is as well. He\u2019ll use the data a lot, but he actually has a comprehension of what is happening to the car as he\u2019s driving,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Next season Sainz will remain with Williams while Verstappen has a new teammate in Isack Hadjar, his third new teammate<\/a> since Sergio Perez left the team after the F1 2024 season.<\/p>\n