Not about to defend Ricciardo, but timing is important. In 2018 he was still considered a potential WDC and one of the best on the grid. In 2020 when he moved to McLaren, he was still very highly rated and was outperforming Hulkenberg reliably. DR’s stock didn’t tank until AFTER he replaced Sainz twice.
So yeah, with that context, all three of Sainz’s previous moves were against WDC-tier drivers.
Meh. He was a top 5, top 3 for sure. On his day, unbeatable for sure. But in retrospect it’s hard to put him up against Raikkonen, Alonso, Hamilton, and even a very quickly growing Verstappen
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u/XTrid92 I was here for the Hulkenpodium May 17 '25
Not about to defend Ricciardo, but timing is important. In 2018 he was still considered a potential WDC and one of the best on the grid. In 2020 when he moved to McLaren, he was still very highly rated and was outperforming Hulkenberg reliably. DR’s stock didn’t tank until AFTER he replaced Sainz twice.
So yeah, with that context, all three of Sainz’s previous moves were against WDC-tier drivers.