29-year-old Formula 1 driver is now looking to sign the ‘last big contract’ of his career

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This year is expected to be one of the most frantic when it comes to driver movements and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is one driver looking to secure his next contract.

The 29-year-old Spaniard is in the final year of his deal with Ferrari and while he’s very keen to extend his time with the Italian outfit, there’s some trepidation on their side right now.

Speaking about the two-time race winner on The Race Podcast, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm believes Carlos Sainz might be in the market to sign the last big contract of his career this year.

The Formula 1 driver market is in a position that it has never experienced before.

There have only been 20 available seats for some time, but never in the history of the sport has every driver retained their place on the grid going from one year to another.

This has created a unique scenario where all of a sudden, the vast majority of drivers are entering the last year of their contracts at the same time.

Mercedes and McLaren are the only teams with both drivers already signed up to 2025, but every other manufacturer could make changes.

With so many drivers at different stages of their careers, everyone is looking for something slightly different heading into next year.

Carlos Sainz is one of the older races on the grid now and his next contract – whether with Ferrari or someone else – is vitally important.

It sets him up going into the next major rule change in 2026 and potentially one more spell challenging for wins and pole positions, or a seat further down the grid.

He’ll be hoping to take inspiration from Sergio Perez’s move to Red Bull, as opposed to Valtteri Bottas swapping Mercedes for Sauber.

Sainz looking for last big contract with Ferrari future in doubt

Speaking about the Spaniard’s situation, Mitchell-Malm said: “I think a driver like Carlos Sainz and maybe [Alex] Albon’s in the same bracket or maybe a little bit of a slightly different one.

“But once you get a driver who’s sort of coming to the end of their twenties and Sainz I think have a couple of years on Albon.

“Sainz I feel like is looking at his last big contract, like that’s what I think Sainz wants to do.

“I think ideally he’d do that with Ferrari now and get a three or four-year deal, bank a load of cash, take him into his early thirties and then decide what to do from there.

“He’s looking for something like that.”

Sainz will want his future sewn up sooner rather than later, but it might not be a case of simply signing a long contract whether that’s at Ferrari or elsewhere.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Charles Leclerc offered a long-term deal going forward with Sainz retained on a shorter contract.

That way, they can keep an eye on Lando Norris’s situation at McLaren as the team are said to be admirers of the Brit.

His deal runs until the end of 2025 so a one-year extension for Sainz could give Ferrari the chance to choose between the two heading into the next phase of Formula 1.

Sainz is also a name being linked with Audi when they eventually enter the sport and that could be just the move the Spaniard desires as he enters his thirties.