Sainz Believes He Could Have Won at McLaren

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. (pictured) says that if he had never left McLaren, he would now be in contention for the Formula 1 world championship.

The 31-year-old Spaniard raced for McLaren in 2019 and 2020 before moving to Ferrari, where he partnered Charles Leclerc through 2024. Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN, Sainz admitted that his decision to leave McLaren came with consequences.

“Those two strong years at McLaren were perhaps the best of my career, where I got the most out of the car I had,” he said.

“If I had stayed, we’d be fighting for a World Championship right now.”

Even so, Sainz insists he does not regret accepting Ferrari’s offer. “I wanted to prove to myself and everyone that I’m worthy of being there, to fight for podiums and victories,” he added.

Ferrari dropped him at the end of 2024 in favor of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and Sainz says what he truly regrets is that no other top team came calling.

Instead, he joined Williams for 2025.

At Monza last weekend, Sainz admitted: “I’ve never experienced such a consecutive streak of poor performance and poor results before.”

Still, he insists he is happy where he is. “I’m very happy at Williams and I think it’s a very good place for my future,” Sainz said.

“If we can get Williams back to the top and achieve a podium or a victory one day, that would be the thing I’d be most excited about – it’s my life project.”

Sainz reflected on how far he has come since his debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, when as a 20-year-old rookie he was paired with a teenaged Max Verstappen.

“I realized I might not make it – it was a brutal wake-up call from life. At 17 or 18, the thought that I might not fulfil my dream was very difficult to accept,” he recalled.

Racing Verstappen – today a four-time world champion – was a formative experience, Sainz said. “It really strengthened my character, because being up against someone with such quality and with the entire Red Bull team supporting him forced me to bring out the best in myself,” he explained.

He later moved to Renault, which he admitted he didn’t love, before McLaren signed him.

“It was the first place in Formula 1 where I truly felt loved, supported, and embraced by everyone,” Sainz said. “It boosted my confidence and allowed me to grow as a driver.”