Carlos Sainz does not think he’s ‘changed Ferrari’s view’ on new F1 contract

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Carlos Sainz does not believe winning the Singapore Grand Prix has changed Ferrari’s stance on the Spaniard earning a contract past the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The 29-year-old and teammate Charles Leclerc are currently under contract at the Scuderia through next year. But Ferrari must soon begin to consider whether or not to keep Sainz and the 25-year-old on for longer. The Maranello outfit already know Sainz wants to keep a seat.

Even before taking pole for the Italian GP and winning in Singapore, Sainz had expressed his absolute desire to stay in red. Yet, despite claiming his best results of the year at Monza and around Marina Bay, the Spaniard does not expect Ferrari to change their view on a contract.

Carlos Sainz wants to discuss a new Ferrari contract over the winter

What Sainz hopes, though, is that Ferrari do not let the uncertainty surrounding his contract roll into 2024. Instead, he wants to resolve his future one way or the other during the winter off-season. The Madrid native sees no point in starting talks while the season is still ongoing.

“It’s not a question of not wanting to renew, it’s just that we haven’t sat down,” Sainz said, via quotes by F1i.com. “We’ve been travelling all day and the priority is to finish the season in the best possible way.

“Why are you going to start negotiating with four months left in the winter when you can have time and calm? My future, I think I have said it several times, will be decided, or I will try to decide it, in [the] winter.

“You know what my priority or intention is in the medium-to-long-term, or in the short, medium and long-term, and I hope we can find out in the winter.

Carlos Sainz doubts the Singapore GP will change the Scuderia’s stance

Sainz has likely improved his hand ahead of starting any negotiations with Ferrari over a new contract with back-to-back poles in Italy and Singapore, while going on to win the Grand Prix around Marina Bay. Yet he does not feel those results will have changed the Scuderia’s view.

“If you’re in a good moment in your racing career, it’s always easier to negotiate than if you’re in a bad one,” Sainz continued. “But I don’t think the last few races have changed Ferrari’s view of me or my view of Ferrari.

“We both knew the ability and potential we have, and my view in [the] winter was going to be the same whether I won in Singapore or not. If I’m here it’s because someone will have valued me enough to be in the best team in history. The rest are subjective points of view.”

Sainz had not claimed a single podium finish this year before producing his superb drive at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix. His best Sunday result before the Monza race was P4 back at the season-opening Bahrain GP. He also secured a P3 finish in the Sprint at July’s Austrian GP.

Yet even before putting his Ferrari on pole for the Italian GP, Sainz led Leclerc in the drivers’ championship. The Spaniard scored 102 points through the first 13 rounds to the 99 scored by the Monegasque. Sainz also now has 150 to Leclerc’s 135 ahead of this week’s Qatar GP.