SAINZ SIGNS ON THE DOTTED LINE AT FERRARI

Carlos Sainz will remain with Ferrari until the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season after agreeing a new two-year contract with the team.

Sainz joined Ferrari in 2021 as Charles Leclerc’s team-mate, and has fitted in well at Maranello. He scored four podiums last year and a second-place finish in Bahrain at the start of this season.

Ferrari opened talks with Sainz over the winter and swiftly sewed up a deal, having not considered any other options to partner Leclerc, and announced the deal ahead of last weekend’s race at Imola.

Team principal Mattia Binotto said Sainz was the “obvious” driver to continue with, and confirmed it was a two-year deal running to the end of 2024.

Sainz said talks had been “easy going” and that a “good plan” was put together for the announcement to be made in front of the Tifosi. He also revealed his amusement over reports days earlier that they had hit a stalemate.

“You can imagine how much I was laughing at home when people started writing these things!” he said. “I had everything pretty much done and we were just waiting for Imola to announce. Funny times, like always in Formula 1, with the gossip and all that.”