Carlos Sainz maps out timeline to secure his Ferrari F1 future beyond 2024

Carlos Sainz said he will not put any thought into his future until the summer break as he nears the final season of his Ferrari deal.

The Spaniard has a year and a half to go on the deal he signed in April 2022 and has increasingly faced questions as to where his long-term future lies.

A move to 2026 outfit Audi has refused to go away while Ferrari have both of their drivers nearing the end of their respective deals.

Are Ferrari focusing on driver negotiations?

Driver contract negotiation is one of the many things on Fréd Vasseur’s to-do list and right now, other issues such as car performance are taking preference.

The Frenchman wants to focus on this year and it appears Sainz is of a similar mind, suggesting he will not put any thought into his future until the summer break next month.

“I personally agree with Fred,” he told the media ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. “I think in Ferrari right now there’s much bigger priorities than sorting out the future of its drivers.

“Also, personally, with so many races consecutively, it’s not like you can stop for a minute and really think about your future and what you want to do and what do you see in the next two or three years happening for you. I think with so many back-to-backs, so many races, it’s difficult.

“I’m not going to lie, there’s the three-week break in August that I will start maybe thinking a bit what I would be happy with or whatever. And then the winter break, that I think is what I said in that interview a while ago, that it will be time to start figuring out where I will be racing in ’25.

“But going back to Fred, I fully agree, because in Ferrari there’s much bigger priorities, much bigger, more important things that we need to sort out in the short term. And that is my priority: to be competitive with Ferrari, not only this year, but also next year that I still have a contract in place and get next year’s car right and get it better than where we are now.”

PlanetF1.com建议

F1 penalty points: One driver has points added and takes unwanted P1 from Pierre Gasly

The seven drivers out of contract at the end of the F1 2023 season

Charles Leclerc also facing questions over Ferrari future

Charles Leclerc’s deal also expires in 2024 but it appears Ferrari have already begun the process of renewing his deal. A report in May from Italian journalist Giuliano Duchessa suggested the two parties had begun negotiations.

Should Leclerc decide to leave, he would be a man in demand with the 25-year-old having previously been linked to Mercedes.

Read next: Examined – Red Bull’s daring new RB19 sidepod configuration