After some reports that indicated a stand-off between Carlos Sainz Jr and Scuderia Ferrari over contract negotiations, there is a finality to the saga as the Spaniard has signed another two-year deal with the Italian team till the end of 2024. Carlos Sainz Jr joined Ferrari in 2021 on a two-year deal replacing 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and quickly came up to speed as he outscored Ferrari prodigy and current world championship leader Charles Leclerc in his first season at Maranello.
Carlos Sainz Jr is currently P3 in the driver's world championship having come P2 in Bahrain and P3 in Saudi Arabia but he had a terrible weekend in Melbourne where he looked fast in the practice sessions. He just managed P9 in qualifying while Leclerc was on pole and he spun out of the race in the second lap while his teammate trounced to win by over 20 seconds from the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
undefined???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ✍️
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 21, 2022
Committing his future with us until 2024, @CarlosSainz55 is staying for another two years ???? https://t.co/kxu4MmSlWT#essereFerrari ???? #Sainz2024 pic.twitter.com/0ONJCJYm6Y
Sainz of course doesn't want to be relegated to a support driver for Leclerc and has ambitions of winning a world title. That being said, he is yet to win his first F1 GP and Leclerc is not only a Ferrari Driver Academy graduate but in his first two seasons, he demolished 4-time world champion Vettel who is third on the all-time list of race wins. With Sainz falling behind Leclerc with a gap of 38 points, the notion was that his stock had fallen in the team.
Reports had suggested a 1-year contract was offered to him by the Italian team with a unilateral option of an extension into 2024. Sainz was rooting for a two-year deal straight up - which is what has happened. This will be the Spaniard's longest stint with a single team having had a spell with Toro Rosso, Renault, and McLaren. This also means that Ferrari's driver pairing is locked in till 2024. Leclerc was granted an unprecedented 5-year deal at the end of the 2019 season till 2024 something that wasn't even offered to Michael Schumacher.
This also means Mick Schumacher, the son of Michael Schumacher, who is also a Ferrari Driver Academy graduate will have to bide his time at another team till at least the end of 2024 and prove he is worthy of a seat at the prancing horse. Schumacher currently drives for Ferrari engine customer Haas and will likely be there for a while if his performances are up to the mark.
