Carlos Sainz - Ferrari: a final F1 season that needs to start on the right foot

For Carlos Sainz, the last year with Ferrari begins. A season that will undoubtedly be quite peculiar. The prolonged negotiations for contract renewal were due to the Maranello team stalling, as Ferrari, in the background, was about to pull off the century deal by signing Lewis Hamilton. The disappointment is almost evident. It’s not hard to think of the various reasons. Still, the Spanish driver has several options on the table.

However, it remains to be seen whether his demands, once at the negotiating table with the management, were indeed too high. Or if the Lewis Hamilton deal was in the works regardless. Most likely we will never know, as determining issues within the F1 world always remain hidden and usually come to light only many years later.

At least in the post-presentation statements of the SF-24, the Spanish driver has shown gratitude to the Maranello team that made him a successful driver both in qualifying and in races. From the experience in Ferrari, Carlos will undoubtedly be a stronger driver than the one who arrived in the 2021 Formula 1 season. He matured as a driver during his time in Maranello and he didn’t hesitate to show his appreciation for Ferrari despite everything.

The son of the four-time winner of the Paris-Dakar knows well that with an expiring contract he must be in the fight for something important so that the team can involve him in the car development process until the end. A bit like what accidentally happened in 1999 to Eddie Irvine, who, despite an agreement with Jaguar for the following year, was supported by Ferrari until the final race in Suzuka.

The former McLaren driver, strongly wanted by Mattia Binotto, is a very happy driver both inside and outside the cockpit, although he is aware that the challenge with Red Bull will be titanic. The only way to “have fun” (a term used by the Spanish driver himself) is to give a hard time to his teammate so that he doesn’t lack support in the final phase of the championship. Carlos has not hidden that Lewis’s arrival was a surprise.

Nevertheless, knowing his destiny in advance offered the possibility to metabolize and mentally reset to work well in 2024. There will be time to listen to future options, acquiring all the relevant information. The Spaniard claims to be very focused on the tests in Bahrain to have the best possible season, which would also be the best business card for the next team that will hire him.

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Ferrari/Sainz: The Future Doesn’t Disturb the Spaniard

Carlos Sainz feels he doesn’t have to prove his worth to anyone after nine years in F1, four of which were spent in Ferrari alongside a very fast driver. New year, new opportunities for new successes, although, as always, much will depend on the progress made with the SF-24. The goal is to look less in the mirrors and improve weak points. The hope is that the 2024 Formula 1 season starts as the last one ended, essentially with Ferrari very close to Red Bull.

Although it remains difficult to know if and how much the Milton Keynes team has progressed, Ferrari’s clear goal is to have a flexible car based on every type of layout, weather conditions, and track surface. Last year, under certain conditions, the red car was not capable of delivering decent performances, despite almost always brilliant qualifying sessions.

If Carlos Sainz is put in a position to fight for the title, he will have genuine fun; otherwise, the upcoming season could be seen as a very long agony waiting for a change.