Sainz Admits He Was 'Looking To Sign New Contract' Before 'Unexpected' Hamilton Move

Saturday, 24 February 2024 at 02:30

Carlos Sainz reflected on the situation when he found that Lewis Hamilton would replace him in Ferrari, saying he was "looking forward to signing a new contract."

When the Ferrari team and its drivers were about to enroll in contract negotiations at the end of the most recent season, both sides said they would like to extend their collaboration.

Carlos Sainz, back then, said he would like to have the contract in hand before the beginning of the season. However, as we know, not only does he not have the contract, but he also knows he will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025. He told the media in Bahrain:

"Yeah, I mean, funny enough, my future was decided before the first race. That I was not going to continue with Ferrari."

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The announcement of the seven-time World Champion signing with Scuderia surprised several key people, including the team principal of Mercedes Toto Wolff and the 29-year-old Ferrari driver.

"Obviously, as I said, it came unexpectedly, and I was looking forward to signing a new contract with them, and everything looked like it was in the right path to go that way."

Ferrari now seems to have different plans. Signing the 39-year-old Mercedes driver is a bold move, and how Hamilton performs with the team remains to be seen. Sainz continued:

"But in the end, it didn't happened, as you guys know, and yeah, the situation has changed completely to what I thought where we were in October November last year."

The one positive for the Spaniard in this situation is that he learned about everything a year early, and now he has time to carefully assess all his options.

"The situation now is completely different, I am basically a free agent for '25 and I have no idea yet where I am going to be racing with. As I said before, I have to take my time to decide, see all the options that are available."