2025 Formula 1 Surprise of the Year: Carlos Sainz Comeback

Paul Velasco, Editor-in-Chief, and Jad Mallak, Editor, reflect on why Sainz’s season became one of the more compelling Formula 1 sideshows of 2025 and ultimately the GrandPrix247 Surprise of the Year.

Discarded by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton and overlooked by the sport’s leading teams, Sainz’s move to Williams was widely viewed as a step backwards. Early results appeared to confirm the scepticism, with questions raised about whether his reputation exceeded his results.

What followed, however, forced a complete reassessment. A controlled, intelligent podium performance in Baku, followed by another in Qatar, transformed both Sainz’s narrative and Williams’ season. As Velasco and Mallak explore, these results were not flashes of fortune but proof of resilience, adaptability, and elite racecraft.

While other drivers impressed in 2025, Sainz’s revival stands apart as the season’s most unexpected and defining turnaround.

Jad Mallak: "Surprise of the Year can be related to last year, because someone last year was surprised to suddenly find himself without a race seat, and that guy was Carlos Sainz.

"Ferrari told him, 'We’re not going to renew your contract. You have to leave, and we’re bringing in Lewis Hamilton' And Carlos was surprised. You have to understand his position at that point.

"Then he went on to sign with Williams, which was another surprise, because none of the big teams took him, and they had vacancies. He could have been at Red Bull. He could have been at Mercedes. But he eventually signed with Williams, and he spoke about how important that decision was, and how confident he was about the future.

"James Vowles couldn’t stop talking about signing Carlos, and you have to understand James, because signing Sainz was a huge thing for him. So everyone talked and talked and talked.

"Then we started the 2025 season, and reality hit hard. Carlos struggled at the start of the year. Alex Albon was outqualifying him and outracing him. Everyone was asking: where is Carlos? Where is the driver we know?

"He’s a thinker. He doesn’t just drive. He understands strategy, understands the car, goes into the details. Where’s the smart driver we’ve got used to seeing in Formula 1?

"But then, somehow, we get to Baku and he gets a podium for the team. He drove perfectly that weekend and delivered it. All of a sudden, he’s vindicated. He turns the corner, his driving improves, and now he goes ahead and delivers another podium in Qatar.

"With all the doom and gloom at the start of the season with Sainz, I never thought I’d see him on the podium with Williams in his first season with them, yet he delivered it. That’s a surprise.

"A close second, and we have to mention it, is Nico Hülkenberg finally breaking his duck and getting a podium after ages in Formula 1. He got that podium at Silverstone. But given all the circumstances at Williams surrounding Sainz, I think he deserves Surprise of the Year with his podiums."

Paul Velasco: "I’m going to agree with you to keep the peace. For me, it wasn’t really the surprise of the year as I expected Carlos to beat Alex Albon. But I’ll give it to him because Ferrari did him dirty. And every time he beat Ferrari, I was happy.

"What they did to Sainz last year was horrible. More so in retrospect. So every time he beat them, my feeling was: F@ck you, Ferrari. So yes, I’ll give it to him on that basis.

"But honestly, the surprise of the season for me was Antonelli. I was convinced he wasn’t ready for the big step. I was wrong. Totally wrong. He wasn’t ready in the first six months, but now he’s ready. And Toto Wolff played his cards great. So I’ll say yes to Sainz, but Antonelli was my surprise."

JM: "Nothing about Hülkenberg? Didn’t he surprise you with the podium?"

PV: "Hülkenberg... The surprise for me is that it took him 239 GPs to get on the podium. For me, it was more like: Where the hell have you been?"