Monaco magazine accused of Carlos Sainz ‘disrespect’ with Lewis Hamilton Ferrari cover
Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton
A Monaco-based magazine has been accused of disrespecting Carlos Sainz after already portraying Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari colours alongside Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton rocked the F1 world in February by announcing that he will join Ferrari on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, bringing an end to his long and successful association with Mercedes.
Carlos Sainz snubbed for Lewis Hamilton
The seven-time World Champion will replace Sainz, who despite claiming Ferrari’s last two F1 victories – at Singapore 2023 and Australia 2024 – remains without a seat for next season.
The timing of the announcement of Hamilton’s Ferrari switch has created an unusual situation where both he and Sainz are spending the entire F1 2024 season with their current teams in the knowledge that they will part ways at the end of the year.
And for Monaco-based outlet The Monegasque, F1 2025 seemingly can’t come soon enough with Sainz excluded from the front cover of its April-June 2024 issue.
The cartoon-style artwork portrays a youthful Hamilton and Leclerc sitting on the track at the famous Casino Square section of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, playing with a miniature Prancing Horse and a small model of a Ferrari F1 car.
Sainz, meanwhile, is nowhere in sight, with the decision to omit the Spaniard drawing a furious reaction on social media.
“This is very disrespectful to Carlos Sainz,” wrote one fan.
Another said: “Wow Carlos is really being left behind by everyone while he’s still driving for Ferrari.”
A third added: “What is this?? Carlos Sainz is still a Ferrari driver and Hamilton a Mercedes driver. This cover is so disrespectful for them and their teams.”
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Sainz’s F1 future remains unresolved, with the 29-year-old linked with the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Audi, the latter believed to have offered the outgoing Ferrari star a lucrative three-year contract – over recent months.
PlanetF1.com revealed on Wednesday that the prospect of a direct seat swap with Hamilton is off the table for now, with talks stalling between Sainz and Mercedes.
It is understood that while Sainz wanted to agree a deal with Mercedes as soon as possible, the team are keen to wait before finalising their F1 2025 lineup as Mercedes keep tabs on Max Verstappen’s situation at Red Bull.
Despite winning five of the seven races held so far in F1 2024 – and holding a contract until the end of the F1 2028 season – Verstappen’s Red Bull future has been plunged into doubt amid the current off-track saga engulfing Red Bull.