Ferrari have announced that Carlos Sainz will race for them from 2021 as the replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who will leave the Italian team at the end of the season.
Sainz, 25, will join from McClaren to replace Vettel, who announced earlier this week he will depart Ferrari when his deal expires.
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The Spaniard, who finished sixth in the 2019 drivers’ championship – one place behind Vettel – said: “I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I’m excited about my future with the team.
“I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I’m really looking forward to going racing again with them this season.”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto added: “I’m pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari as from the 2021 championship.
“With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family.
“We’ve embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1.
“It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way to the recent past.
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“We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past fifty years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves.”
Sainz himself will be replaced at McLaren, who will use a Mercedes engine from next season, by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The ‘Honey Badger’ has signed a ‘multi-year agreement’ and will leave Renault at the end of this campaign, which has yet to start because of coronavirus. He will race alongside Lando Norris, the Brit who finished 11th last season.
“Daniel is a proven race-winner and his experience, commitment and energy will be a valuable addition to McLaren and our mission to return to the front of the field,” McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl said.
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Ricciardo surprisingly left Red Bull, a team with whom he had won seven races in five seasons between 2004 and 2018, to sign a two-year contract with Renault.
However, the Australian’s first season was fraught with difficulty and he failed to make a podium. It seems he has now decided McLaren are the better bet for his long-term prospects.
“With Daniel and Lando as teammates, I believe we have two racers who will continue to excite our fans and help the team grow,” Seidl said.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: “Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans.”
Source: TalkSport.com Motorsport
