Drivers making their moves before the off
McLAREN have announced the signing of Daniel Ricciardo from the 2021 season as a replacement for Carlos Sainz, who will take Sebastian Vettel’s place on the grid at Ferrari.
Ricciardo will leave Renault at the end of this campaign, yet to start because of coronavirus, and will race alongside Lando Norris after being signed to a “multiyear agreement” with McLaren.
That paved the way for Sainz to sign a two-year contract with Ferrari, who described the Spaniard as “an ideal fit with our family”.
Sainz will race alongside Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia after it was confirmed earlier this week that Vettel would leave the team, with the four-time world champion saying there was “no longer a common desire to stay together”.
Sainz, who finished sixth in the drivers’ championship last year and claimed his first podium when he came third in the penultimate race in Brazil, is widely expected to be the support driver for Leclerc.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: “I’m pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari as from 2021.
“With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family.
“We’ve embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1.
“It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and
SWITCHING CARS: Ferrari have announced that Spaniard Carlos Sainz will race for them in 2021 and 2022.
will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way.
“We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and
Carlos, the youngest in the past 50 years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set.”