His victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix last season for Ferrari<\/a> highlighted the level that he\u2019s capable of reaching in the right car.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, after 12 races with Williams, early teething problems and reliability issues have limited him to 13 points and a best result of eighth in Saudi Arabia<\/a> and at Imola.<\/p>\n Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 234 2 226 3 165 4 147 5 119 6 103 7 63 8 46 9 37 10 23 11 21 12 20 13 19 14 16 15 13 <\/p>\n Sainz is competing in his 11th season in Formula 1, having enjoyed spells at Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and now Williams.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen was Sainz\u2019s first teammate<\/a>, and he\u2019s capably gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n He wouldn\u2019t have passed the 200 Grand Prix landmark if he didn\u2019t love competing in Formula 1.<\/p>\n However, he\u2019s now admitted there\u2019s one aspect of F1 that he hates that he doesn\u2019t believe is a factor in any other sport.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Williams star Carlos Sainz\u2019s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height<\/a><\/p>\n Sainz was being interviewed on the High Performance Podcast and was asked about the current state of Formula 1.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI don\u2019t think there is any other sport as political as F1!<\/p>\n \u201cYou know football, football can be political, but nowhere near as much as Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cFormula 1, there is, for some reason, a level of politics that I don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the one thing in this sport I hate.\u201d<\/p>\n YEARTEAMTEAMMATEPTSPOS2015Toro RossoMax Verstappen1815th2016Toro RossoMax Verstappen\/Daniil Kvyat4612th2017Toro Rosso\/RenaultDaniil Kvyat\/Nico Hulkenberg549th2018RenaultNico Hulkenberg5310th2019McLarenLando Norris966th2020McLarenLando Norris1056th2021FerrariCharles Leclerc164.56th2022FerrariCharles Leclerc2465th2023FerrariCharles Leclerc2007th2024FerrariCharles Leclerc1084th2025*WilliamsAlex Albon1315th*Carlos Sainz\u2019s Williams F1 career Jake Humphrey asked Sainz to elaborate, and he continued: \u201cWhat makes sense for a team to have in the two seats might not be the right thing for the team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes sense, but it\u2019s not the right thing, or there\u2019s other things coming behind the driver.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s sponsors, money, that makes one a bit more attractive than the other, so it\u2019s not purely performance.<\/p>\n \u201cPerformance brings you 80% of the cake, but there is another 20% that is not only performance or speed.<\/p>\n \u201cOr let\u2019s say, if I am equally as quick as some driver, that 20% is what makes the difference to go to a team or not, or to be chosen over another driver, and I feel this is only happening in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Juan Pablo Montoya tips Carlos Sainz for potential Red Bull switch<\/p>\n Sainz\u2019s experience and raw speed mean that he\u2019ll always be on the radar of any team looking to upgrade their driver line-up.<\/p>\n He missed out on a move to Mercedes last year, with Toto Wolff instead opting for rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n Sainz was glad not to be offered a seat at Red Bull<\/a> when it became clear that Sergio Perez wasn\u2019t destined to survive the 2024 winter break.<\/p>\n TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacN\/AN\/AFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n However, Verstappen is being linked with a move to Mercedes<\/a>, which could see the F1 driver market<\/a> once again become a key talking point.<\/p>\n![\"Ferrari](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2208746431-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Clive Mason\/Getty ImagesCarlos Sainz admits he hates how political the Formula 1 driver market is<\/p>\n
Accurate as of 2025 British Grand Prix<\/p>\n