General
Source from Sainz entourage : 'Plan is and remains Ferrari, not Audi'
- GPblog.com
For months now, rumours have been buzzing around the persona of Carlos Sainz and Audi. It is possible that the Madrileen would have already signed a pre-contract with the German formation, which will take over Sauber from 2026, but someone from the current Ferrari driver's entourage denies that anything is already on paper. Sainz's plan is to stay at Ferrari.
"Plan A is Ferrari, plan B is Ferrari and plan C also remains Ferrari," said the Italian branch of Motorsport.com, which spoke to someone in Sainz's circle about possible pre-contract with Audi. Sainz's contract runs until the end of 2024, but so the 28-year-old driver himself is said to be angling for a new commitment in Maranello.
Somehow, this might also be a bit surprising, as in the first half of the season it seemed several times that Charles Leclerc was somewhat favored by Ferrari. Ferrari would see the Monegasque as the faster driver, but Sainz is thus reportedly still happy with his seat with the Italian formation. A move to Audi would therefore be totally out of the question.
No negotiations yet
Sainz is therefore keen to sign a brand new contract, but it seems that he will have to be patient. Frederic Vasseur has said since the start of the season that talks with Sainz and Leclerc about their contracts are certainly not top priority at the moment. For now, the new team boss wants to focus on making the SF23 more competitive before energy is put into 'peripheral matters' such as contract talks.