Amid the ongoing contract extension saga at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc is reportedly signing a whopping $198,500,000 contract at the Maranello-based outfit. This comes at a time when Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s teammate, has hinted at a possible bias towards the Monegasque driver from his team. In between all of this, the Spanish driver is believed to have signed a pre-contract with Audi, with his father Carlos Sainz Sr. working hard on getting his son away from Ferrari.
Problems between Sainz and Leclerc began over their rift over track position at the 2023 Hungarian GP. The former McLaren star was of the opinion that Ferrari jeopardized his race to make up for Leclerc’s botched pitstop.
Following this, there were reports about Sainz Sr. looking for better opportunities for his son in the paddock. Sainz, who still hasn’t started negotiating an extension at Ferrari, has been rumored to be unhappy at Ferrari. Now, the same reports point towards him already agreeing to a pre-contract with new entrants Audi.
Carlos Sainz agreed on a pre-contract with Audi
Sainz has allegedly taken the first step in planning a move away from Ferrari after his contract expires. However, it’s still not confirmed if he jumped ship to Audi, which is expected to merge with Sauber from 2026 onwards.
Given that fact that Sainz Sr. has a strong relationship with the German automotive giants, experts believe that the Madrid-born driver has a strong chance of landing a place at the team without breaking much sweat. Sainz, talking about this as per Auto Action, revealed, “The goal is to go into the 2024 championship without any worries about it and my contract for the future already signed and sealed.”
Following this, the 28-year-old emphasized that he likes to start a season with a free mind. This is so that he doesn’t have to worry about his immediate future in the sport. “I do prefer starting a season already knowing where I’m going to be the following year.” he said.
Even though a pre-contract does not guarantee a place in Audi or a move away from Ferrari, it does suggest that Sainz is open to leaving the Italian outfit, where he has been since 2021.
Sainz’s departure rumors amid Ferrari’s contract dilemma
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur recently opened up about retaining his drivers for the upcoming seasons. He said that the team’s focus as of now is to bring out upgrade packages. At the same time they are also focused on developing next year’s car.
Therefore, they are in no hurry of starting talks Leclerc and Sainz about their contracts. Both of them are still bound to the team until the 2024 season.
In the end, Carlos Sainz might want to leave the Maranello-based team. His belief that Ferrari favors Leclerc over him could be a major reason behind this. Additionally, the number of blunders that their strategists are making, have also frustrated Sainz immensely.
However, there could still be a twist in the tale. Neither Sainz, nor Ferrari have publicly spoken about being unhappy. Therefore, a contract extension for Sainz could still be on the cards.
