Fred Vasseur had to expect it, because during the Christmas lunch shared with the F1 journalists in the lounge that Ferrari has set up in the Fiorano circuit for important guests, the Spanish colleagues in particular were “pointed” in trying to break that tone monotone of the documented and well-argued story of the French manager.
And the Iberians have pushed on the accelerator to try to understand if Carlos Sainz will be granted a two-year renewal contract, compared to the one-year one predicted by someone, continuing the relationship with Charles Leclerc, given that the Monegasque is reaching the end of his negotiations to close a three-year contract that will lead him to be the point of reference for the Cavallino. The Madrid native will have the trust of Ferrari and will be able to count on two championships plus 2024.
Photo by: Ferrari
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager Scuderia Ferrari
Do the renewals of the two drivers foresee the same duration in terms of contract years or will there be different agreements for each of them?
“I remember perfectly that a year ago in this same room I received many questions regarding the topic 'Charles number one and Carlos number two of the team'. We have demonstrated on several occasions that we guarantee our pilots more than equal treatment, I believe that Singapore was the best example.”
“Charles agreed to start the race on a set of soft tires to be able to overtake and control Russell, all to help Carlos. We have two drivers who are doing a good job, Carlos was very strong after the summer break with two excellent weekends in sequence in Monza and Singapore, and he was probably a stimulus to Charles, as we saw at the end of the season.”
“We will continue in this direction, I don't want to have one good resource and another second level, we have two cars and two good drivers, and I think one of the positive aspects of the season was the performance of Carlos and Charles. They guaranteed the team practically the same points, with a small difference and we want to continue like this.”
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari
And when will the signature be reached?
“As you know, they are under contract with us until the end of 2024, which means we still have a few months ahead of us. Last year, Mercedes renewed the contracts of both its drivers for 2024 at the end of August; so, I think we still have weeks and months ahead of us. A year ago I told you that I would try to make a decision by the end of this year, but I have to admit that the last part of the season was very challenging. We met and started discussions, but we are a little behind the initial plan. I don't consider it a problem at all, we will make a decision soon.”
Do you think the driver renewal will come before the start of the season?
“That could be the goal.”
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