As far as driver pairing goes, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen were right up there. The two drivers entered Formula 1 together with Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team. They are now battling each other for the championship, but the foundation was laid back in 2015 with the Italian team.

Their paths, however, drifted in 2016, when Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull, while Sainz decided to take a different route and left the Red Bull franchise. Helmut Marko, however, believes that the Spaniard was unlucky to have Verstappen as a teammate and the environment ultimately became toxic.

He said, “Carlos had to fight consistently to get ahead. It was his bad luck to get Max as a team-mate. The atmosphere between the two at AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso was quite toxic. In the set-up we had at the time, I couldn’t see a way of keeping him with us and so he moved to Renault, McLaren and then on to Ferrari.”

During their first season, Verstappen secured 31 points more than his teammate. Although Sainz started the season strongly, it was the Dutchman’s performances in the final part of the season that grabbed the headlines.

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After a string of consistent performances, the reigning world champion replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull in the middle of the 2016 season. Sainz, on the other hand, waited patiently for his chances until 2017. As the Bulls’ lineup was settled, he left them for Renault at the end of the same year.

The contrasting career path of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz

Max Verstappen is Red Bull’s star boy. He stole the show with a debut victory with Red Bull at the tender age of 18. Following this, his career grew from strength to strength. He finished 3rd during the 2019 and 2020 seasons and showed the world that he was prepared for a championship battle.

And the 2021 season topped it all. He battled the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, and pipped the crown from him during the penultimate lap of the season. He has also started the 2022 season in a similar fashion and is the favorite to win the title.

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Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, also grew strength to strength but with different teams. Following his move to Renault and McLaren, he has shown consistency with the teams. And a move to Ferrari in 2021 saw him compete with the elite teams for the championship. He achieved his first victory at Silverstone this year, showing constant growth.

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The two drivers are world-class, but their contrasting career path to reach to the top is certainly interesting. Can Sainz have a say in the 2022 championship or will Verstappen continue his dominance?