Carlos Sainz says he won't sign new Ferrari contract this year amid Audi rumours
Carlos Sainz declared he will not be signing a new Ferrari contract before the end of this season.
His current deal with the Scuderia expires at the end of the 2024 campaign. And his team-mate Charles Leclerc is in the same boat, meaning the team has nothing to worry about on that front this year.
Frederic Vasseur will be relieved about that, given everything else on his plate. Seven months into the team principal job, he has by now discovered the true enormity of the task facing him.
Ferrari always expects to be in a title fight, but they have been a long way off the standard set by Red Bull this season. Instead, they remain plagued by the same issues which derailed their championship challenge under Mattia Binotto last term.
Their car suffers from significantly higher tyre degradation than most of their rivals, while in-session strategy decisions continue to be a weakness. With those problems to solve, Vasseur has already made it clear that driver contract talks will take a back seat.
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"I was clear with the team at the beginning of the season and I was also clear with the drivers, that I need to get to know the team first. And it takes months," said the Frenchman. "They still have a one-year contract, so I don't think it's an issue that needs to be discussed now."
Sainz, linked repeatedly with a potential move to Audi when they join the sport in 2026, was asked for his reaction to those quotes as he spoke to reporters in the Hungarian Grand Prix paddock on Thursday. The Spaniard made it clear he was on the same page as his boss and said he would not be giving much serious thought to his future until after the end of this season.
Fred Vasseur said driver contract renewals are not currently his priority (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)He said: "I personally agree with Fred. In Ferrari, there are much bigger priorities than sorting out the future of its drivers. With so many races consecutively, it is not like you can stop for a minute and really think about your future and what you want to do and what you see happening for you in the next two or three years. With so many back-to-back races, it is difficult.
"I am not going to lie, during the three-week break in August I will start thinking a bit about what I would be happy with, and then the winter break – which is what I said in an interview a while ago – will be the time to start figuring out where I will be racing in 2025.
"But, going back to Fred, I fully agree because there are much bigger priorities, much more important things we need to sort out in the short term and that is my priority too, to be competitive with Ferrari not only this year but also next year – I still have a contract in place – and get next year's car right and getting better than where we are now."
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