Ex-Ferrari Boss Proves Carlos Sainz a Better Option for Toto Wolff Than Fernando Alonso as Lewis Hamilton Replacement Still in Question

Carlos Sainz is the talk of F1 town. His post-surgery heroics at the Australian Grand Prix have everyone floored. While this Spaniard excels, his compatriot Fernando Alonso has slipped down compared to 2023. Why does this comparison matter? Because both of them could be in contention for the 2025 Mercedes seat. And former Ferrari Manager Peter Windsor believes that Sainz has an edge over Alonso in one key aspect of F1 racing.

Fernando Alonso has already received a multi-year contract from Aston Martin but he’s yet to sign it. After all, the Mercedes seat is wide open to claim for 2025. Though Toto Wolff might not be able to fill the void that Lewis Hamilton has left, Alonso being a 2-time World Champion should be enough of an application boost for him. Despite his achievements, there is one place where Alonso could improve considerably, feels Windsor.

“What I do think is that Alonso makes more mistakes in a qualifying lap than a Lewis, a Max, or a Carlos Sainz,” Windsor emphasized in his YouTube video. “As we saw in Melbourne, he ran over a curb in Q3, right at the end. I don’t think he is as great a qualifier as he is a racing driver. He’s an outstanding qualifier but not as good at qualifying as racing.”

Windsor has often criticized the Aston Martin racer’s lack of Qualifying excellence. Maybe that could be what helps Carlos Sainz leave Alonso in the dust in the race to replace Lewis Hamilton.

Helmut Marko in awe of  “Fascinating” Carlos Sainz

After the Australian GP, Ferrari came out as heroes, and Red Bull were the losers. Max Verstappen’s DNF exposed Sergio Perez’s lack of pace, who only finished P5, compared to Carlos Sainz’s victory. After the race, Red Bull team Advisor Helmut Marko was left impressed by Sainz’s form.

“Of course, his (Sainz’s) form is fascinating,” Marko said. “But you have to realise that Checo [Perez] delivered three good races this year. The fact that he fell back so much in Melbourne was due to the damaged underbody and tyre degradation,” he concluded, in Perez’s defence.

Read More: Valtteri Bottas Takes on Carlos Sainz for Audi Seat as Competition in the Driver Market Heats Up

Toto Wolff and the Silver Arrows have a quite a task on their hands. If they sign Carlos Sainz, we could actually get to see if Ferrari were right to fire him for Hamilton