Carlos Sainz has put any speculation about his future with Ferrari at rest by agreeing to a two-year extension with the team.
The Spaniard will race for Ferrari in Formula One until the end of the 2024 season at least, the former champions announced on Thursday.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said at the season’s opening race in March that a new deal for Sainz was close, although those negotiations appeared to slow down recently.
His future with the team was coming into question after his team-mate Charles Leclerc’s blistering start to this season.
The Monegasque is leading the pack after winning two of the first three races in Bahrain and Australia while finishing second in Saudi Arabia.
This led to wild speculation that Ferrari may prefer the 24-year-old with Carlos Sainz falling down the pecking order.
The 27-year-old Sainz, who was fifth in the overall standings in 2021 in his debut season with Ferrari, has finished on the podium in the first two races of this season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia but has failed to separate himself from the pack like Leclerc despite clearly having a superior machine to drive.
“I have always said that there is no better (Formula One) team to race for and after over a year with them, I can confirm that putting on this race suit and representing this team is unique and incomparable,” Sainz said in a statement.
