New Ferrari recruit Carlos Sainz will take Sebastian Vettel’s seat in the upcoming Formula 1 season.
While Vettel has joined Aston Martin and the two will be competitors this season, Sainz can’t help but praise Vettel and has confessed to having a great level of admiration for the German.
A lot of this respect stems from their time together at Red Bull in 2014. At the time, Sainz was a simulator pilot for the Austrian outfit. As a means to thank Sainz for his work behind the virtual wheel, Vettel had penned a letter to the Spaniard.
But it wasn’t just Sainz who got a letter from Vettel. The four-time world champion had gifted each member of the Red Bull crew a personal letter.
Sainz spoke about this gesture in a candid chat with Soy Motor.
“The day he said goodbye to Red Bull in 2014, I was a simulator pilot and he dedicated a letter to me.
“He thought that the work I did in the simulator for him and the team was important. He had the detail saying goodbye to Red Bull by sending a letter to all employees personalised for each employee. I was a simulator pilot at the time.”
Just like he did at Red Bull, Vettel had dedicated a song for Ferrari too after his last race for the team at the end of the previous campaign.
It was an honourable act, especially keeping in mind that Vettel had struggled for huge parts of the season and many would argue that he never quite repaid the team for the 6 years they invested in him.
On their part, Ferrari too gifted Vettel Vettel a championship cup that enlisted the races he had won during his time with the team.
Sainz revealed just how specific the letter to him was, claiming that it made the entire thing even more special.
“He knew that at four in the morning he would spend hours on set-up recommending settings for his Australian race,” Sainz said.
“He had the detail of sending me a letter thanking me for that effort in the simulator and those hours of work that I had put there.
“Since then I have a special affection for him and I have a relationship with him beyond the cameras.
“Perhaps I have never told him this, but one day I will. Since then I have great respect for him.”
Sainz further predicted that Vettel will get back to his best with Aston Martin.
Competitors? Pfft.
What are your thoughts on this budding bromance?
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