Carlos Sainz cut a relaxed figure when he faced a series of questions centring around Lewis Hamilton taking his seat at Ferrari for 2025 and his next move during Ferrari’s launch last week. That is because the Spaniard, a two-time race winner in F1, will know he has plenty of options elsewhere on the grid and is one of the most sought-after racers right now given his experience and current form.

It would be easy to get demoralised when a team you love to race for decides they don’t want to continue with you, especially when you feel like you’ve done a very impressive job in the preceding three seasons with them.

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However, being usurped by the greatest driver of the generation makes it slightly easier to take (Ferrari would have almost certainly re-signed him had long-time target Hamilton not been available) – as does the knowledge there are a plethora of teams who are understood to have already been fighting for his signature.

It would be fair to say that of the eight teams that have free seats in 2025 – Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Alpine, Williams, RB, Sauber and Haas – all eight are possible landing spots. There has never been a better time to lose your seat and need a ride somewhere on the grid.