Why Ferrari cannot afford to lose Carlos Sainz in contract talks

Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari deal comes to an end this season, with talks between the two parties crucial for both.

Sainz joined Ferrari from McLaren on a two-year deal at the beginning of 2021, partnering Charles Leclerc after Sebastian Vettel lost his season before the 2020 campaign got underway.

When the deal was announced, most were unsure about who would come out on top, with the Spaniard narrowly beating Leclerc following four podiums that season.

However, coming into 2022, Ferrari’s challenge for the drivers’ championship has largely surrounded Leclerc with Sainz trailing the championship leader by 38 points.

Although this deficit may seem large, much of the damage was done in Australia where Sainz suffered his first retirement of the season while his teammate went on to win the race.

Discussing a difficult weekend, he said:

“This is definitely a difficult weekend to digest. After all that happened yesterday, I was looking forward to the race but we hit problems even before the start.

“Up until Q3 the weekend was going ok but from then on everything just went wrong. We will analyse it carefully, learn and move on.”

Other than this, he has been a solid wingman to Leclerc, playing a key part in Ferrari’s large lead in the constructors’ championship.

Given this strong form, and contract negotiations currently going on behind the scenes at Maranello, the prospect of losing Sainz from the team could be catastrophic for Ferrari.

Although several drivers could step up to replace him should talks go haywire, such as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, Sainz would be the ideal candidate to continue on alongside Leclerc.

Not only does he have a strong relationship with Leclerc, but he is also a good mix of both youth and experience who has demonstrated that he can perform at the Monegasque’s level.

However, given talks earlier in the year, Sainz is likely to remain in red for another year under the eye of team principal Mattia Binotto.

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