SUMMARY
- Fred Vasseur steers clear of growing speculations feat. Carlos Sainz with a straightforward answer.
- The fate of Sainz will be revealed in the coming days, as Vasseur assures an answer before the start of the 2024 F1 season.
with the 2024 season progressing towards the car launches, Ferrari confirmed their partnership with Charles Leclerc with a contract extension and his younger brother joining the driver development program. Yet, one driver was left in the dust. Although Leclerc has a confirmation to join the team for more than a year, Carlos Sainz is closing in on a dead end.
Ferrari saw massive success once throughout the season in 2023 when the Spaniard presented the team with a race win. While the race win from Sainz must have been a secured deposition in the team, soon a deadline for a contract extension came up with the 2023 season-ending. Nevertheless, the Spaniard’s wish to see a multi-year contract on his desk never came true.
Sainz talked about a last-minute contract extension being unprofessional for a racing driver and claimed to look for other options by winter break. However, with a few weeks remaining before the start of the season, the race-winner has no contract extension in front of him.
Ferrari eyes this driver amidst talks with Sainz
Ferrari’s 2023 season could not have been worse considering their failed strategies and the technical aspect of the car. However, Carlos Sainz continued to stay consistent throughout the season while his teammate was met with DNFs and DQ in a single season. The Spaniard was also the only driver to bring in a race win in 2023 amidst the utter Red Bull domination.
However, his contract extension is nowhere in sight while Leclerc enjoys a multi-year deal. Although Ferrari has confirmed Sainz to drive for the 2024 season, there is a huge question mark on his 2025-26 season. Recently, Sainz Sr. mentioned talking to Audi as a great partnership for his son in 2026 and it is a great stepping stone in the Spaniard’s career.
🚨 | JUST IN: Alex Albon on the Ferrari shortlist if a deal can’t be finalised with Carlos Sainz
— Ferrari Focus (@Scuderiascoop) January 16, 2024
Nevertheless, Sainz has shown interest in sticking with the Prancing Horse team, while the team is aware that betting on the race-winner is their safest option. However, the Spaniard’s competence is now in comparison to Alexander Albon’s with a possible Ferrari contract landing on his lap. After Sainz, Albon has become Ferrari’s safest bet as a second driver to their star, Leclerc.
Unfortunately, with no confirmation about his stay in the Maranello team, and a rather foggy path to thread, Sainz has only two options remaining in front of him. Either his shift to Aston Martin or an obvious move to the newcomer, Audi.
Carlos Sainz Sr. gives Ferrari a reason to extend son’s contract
Sainz Sr. recently finished his Dakar Rally Championship and won for the fourth time. Even at the ripe age of 61, the driver managed to make his dreams come true alongside his team, Audi. However, while he won the race, he gave the Monza team another reason to keep his son, Sainz Jr. on the team.
When talking about his Dakar race win, he mentioned getting a lot of help from Sainz in terms of strategy which worked out for them. He said, “It was a surprise! […] he has been helping me a lot with the, you know… he’s clever with strategy so we were talking a lot every day about that.”
carlos sainz sr. about his son’s surprise:
“it was a surprise! […] he has been helping me a lot with the, you know… he’s clever with strategy so we were talking a lot everyday about that.”
carlos being a strategist even on dakar 😆 pic.twitter.com/m3jkFqfKqE
— ً (@forsainz) January 30, 2024
The Spaniard has proven his mastermind when it comes down to strategies during the Singapore GP. He was seen slowing down Lando Norris in McLaren with DRS as a tactic to stop the two Mercedes from overtaking not just him but his best friend on the grid. While Sainz ended up winning the race, Norris took another podium finish while Hamilton benefitted from George Russell’s sudden crash.