Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has to leave the Italian team after the end of this season. He shared how he feels about the situation after the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz has been with Ferrari for three years before the start of the 2024 season. It was known both his and his teammate's contracts were set to expire at the end of this year.
However, Ferrari leaders repeatedly suggested they would be happy to continue with their current driver lineup, so it came as a surprise when it was announced that Sainz's contract wouldn't be prolonged.
The 29-year-old already knows he won't be driving for the team next year, but he still has a 24-race season to complete with the team from Maranello.
He came in with a mindset of having nothing to lose, and so far, it has been the best start of the season in Sainz's career in terms of results.
It seems like Ferrari has also finally made significant progress with their car this year, and Sainz also confirmed it, speaking to the media after the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. As quoted by Planet F1, he said:
"It's my fourth year in Ferrari, we've been three years working together, and the fact that all this hard work and all the time that I've spent in Maranello helping this team and developing together with this team, it's a project that now is starting to pay off and we starting to show progress."
"Together with the engineers, with Charles [Leclerc] and Fred [Vasseur], and the fact that we're performing better as a team, it's given me a car that I trust more, and all this feedback from the last few years is put together and delivering this makes me feel very happy about this year."
Sainz has played an essential role in building Ferrari's current position. Consequently, he confessed that he feels sad that he has to abandon this journey with Ferrari.
"And a bit sad about the fact that we cannot continue the journey together because I feel like, in a way, we were doing a good job together, and everything was taking its correct shape into the future and the revolution change of '26."
On the other hand, a new, better opportunity might open for the 29-year-old in Red Bull, Mercedes, or perhaps some other team, so he stays positive about the future.
"But that's life. That's how life has decided to go. It was not my decision and not my first choice, but it might mean that there's something even better to come in the future."
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