So he got the drive but the impetus was always with the wunderkind Verstappen, who even had it in his contract that unless he was moved up into the senior team by a specified date, he’d be free to go elsewhere. Extraordinary terms for a rookie, but that’s the value of empowerment. It comes from the perception of being something beyond the norm and no matter how well Sainz did, he would always be fighting that. In their time together at Toro Rosso, Verstappen scored more points, but Sainz was actually marginally faster in qualifying, as an average. The gap in comparable sessions was 0.136% in Sainz’s favour in 2015 and 0.075% in the first four races of 2016 in which they were team-mates. By any objective measure, they were extremely closely-matched. But that was not the general perception. Empowerment and perception carries its own momentum and only adds performance.
Sainz remained in the junior team but after a couple of seasons with no place available in the senior squad, he successfully campaigned to be released to take up an offer at Renault. It was circumstantial in that the team already had Nico Hülkenberg as its big money driver but needed the second car to be scoring points more frequently than Jolyon Palmer had managed. He had his moments there, but Hülkenberg had the upper hand. McLaren recruited him as Fernando Alonso’s replacement, another circumstantial move. Once there, he had the edge over McLaren’s star rookie Lando Norris. Not always, but over their two seasons together Sainz was ahead, their partnership super-competitive but very good natured.
“Sainz and Leclerc were incredible in how hard they were pushing each other”
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto liked that aspect of what he saw in Sainz; competitive, capable of scoring heavily, but intelligent and with a civilised personality which wouldn’t cause waves in a team which was centred around its chosen one: Leclerc. Sebastian Vettel, as a proud four-time world champion, could never be in that support role to a junior. The dynamic was just wrong – and that’s why he was let go. Vettel too had suffered a loss of empowerment. He’d been recruited by Luca di Montezemolo, on the recommendation of Michael Schumacher, to be the new Schumacher, the man to lead the team into its next phase of glory. But di Montezemolo was gone by the time Seb arrived and the new management did not share his vision of why Vettel was that man, almost challenging him to prove it to them every weekend.
Sainz fitted into his new role, understanding the circumstances but not intending to be anyone’s support driver. He’d compete – hard. And that’s how it’s been. Leclerc, arguably the fastest driver on the grid over a single lap, qualified an average of 0.037sec faster than Sainz this year. They’ve fought over track space regularly for four years and never quite touched. They’ve had their moments of competitive niggle, but it’s never been poisoned, always easily defused.
“I have never in all my time of racing seen two team-mates so intensely preoccupied with what the other one is doing,” says Ferrari’s boss Frederic Vasseur. “They were incredible in how hard they were pushing each other – out of the car too, in how much work they were putting in. I really believe that competitive fight between them has brought us performance.”
Williams was ninth in this year’s constructors’ championship: Sainz faces a battle to get back to the front
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That’s what Sainz brings to a team – and this year adversity has seemed to bring even more from him. That Melbourne victory just days after leaving his hospital bed from his appendectomy was incredible. His dominance of Mexico after ambushing a pass on Verstappen, was from the absolute top drawer.
Well, his task at Williams sees him facing more adversity. But he’s now empowered – as the multiple grand prix winner who is going to help them fight their way up the grid. It’s going to be fascinating to watch.