Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has revealed that the team are “fully aligned” with Carlos Sainz, with contract talks set to start “soon”.
Like Charles Leclerc, Sainz is currently contracted until the end of 2024, meaning he is in need of a new deal for 2025.
Whilst Ferrari and Sainz still have over a year to come to an agreement, the Spaniard has previously stressed that he doesn’t like to enter a season without a seat confirmed for the following year.
Sainz seemingly doesn’t want the pressure of entering a season with just 12 months left on a deal, a situation it seems himself and Vasseur are keen to avoid.
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Interestingly, despite Vasseur’s positive comments, Sainz has been rumoured with a move to Sauber for 2025, ahead of their merge with Audi in 2026.
How much truth is behind the rumour is unknown, although even Leclerc has been linked to Audi.
Regardless, Vasseur is keen to sort out Sainz’s future before 2024, leaving “four or five months” for talks to commence.
With Carlos, we are fully aligned,” said Vasseur, as reported by Speedcafe.com. “We have time to discuss. There are still 18 months of contract in front of us.
“We both want to start next season with a clear situation in that we have to take action and a decision before the end of this season, and we still have another four or five months in front of us to decide.
“But we are fully, fully aligned on this point with Carlos and his management, and we will have the discussion soon.”
Vasseur’s comments come ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, which will bring the summer break to a close.
The break will last slightly longer for Sainz, who’s being replaced by reserve driver Robert Shwartzman in Free Practice 1.
Each team must run a rookie in two FP1 sessions per season, meaning each driver effectively misses out on one session.
This weekend it’s Sainz’s turn, whilst Leclerc will “probably” be replaced by the Israeli-Russian driver at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Robert will do Zandvoort in Carlos’ car, and he will do another one, probably Abu Dhabi, in Charles’ car,” confirmed Vasseur.
Vasseur actually went on to reveal that he lets the drivers decide which FP1 session they miss, but that with the addition of sprint races and new circuits, there aren’t many opportunities to complete the two mandatory rookie sessions.
“It was the choice of the driver. I gave them the choice to do it where they wanted to do it,” Vasseur revealed.
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“I know it’s not an easy situation. It’s not easy to decide because you can’t do it in Singapore, Japan, Las Vegas, and also, you have sprint events in Austin and Qatar, so (again) you can’t do it.
“Then you have the races where the tyre allocation is a bit different, so it’s also tricky to do it.
“It means that at the end of the day, you don’t have so many options.”