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On Tuesday, minutes after Sebastian Vettel broke his relationship with Ferrari, the people of Carlos Sainz acted with that joyous caution of those who know that only a few small details remain to be resolved. "A little patience, because some fringes are missing," they said. This morning, almost 48 hours later, the Sainz clan unleashed the joy of those who reached for a checkered flag in first position. So many hours of video conference negotiations had been worth it.

From the family home in Madrid, Sainz savored the happy outcome after two months of confinement. A collective toast with Pegaso, the red from his father's winery in Cebreros (Ávila), which now acquires the unmistakable red hue of Ferrari. "Between all of us we have been paddling in the same direction until we fulfilled a dream. Now there is a year left at McLaren, a team that I am very fond of. I want to finish 2020 as well as possible with them," said the new Scuderia driver .

Loyalty to his friends at Woking will not leave Carlos more time for celebrations. "We will have to wait until December," they said yesterday at home. Then it will be a year since the beginning of all this history. One year since Charles Leclerc extended his contract until 2024, he took command at Ferrari and triggered the domino effect that ends with Sainz at Maranello.

Since Christmas

Mattia Binotto , head of the team, had made his position clear, before John Elkann and Louis Camilleri , the great gyrfalcons. Since December, Ferrari had identified Sainz as the ideal match for Leclerc. They saw him much more qualified for that work than Daniel Ricciardo , a free spirit in search of a destiny where he could exercise his own leadership. Binotto wanted to imitate, in some way, the successful model of Mercedes, with Valtteri Bottas as unconditional gregarious of Lewis Hamilton . For that very reason, the Finnish name resisted until the last moment in the pools.

Sainz's virtues fitted like a mold into Ferrari's peculiar structure, always tending towards chaos. Nicknamed Smooth Operator for smoothness and poise at critical moments, off the track Carlos enjoys similar prestige. Because he is always willing to share information with engineers rather than imposing his judgment in a bad way. In the style of Jenson Button , far from any delusion of grandeur, his image is impeccable. And that aspect is essential among the sponsors.

Obviously, the economic issue has played a key role in understanding the entire process. Only seven days ago, the Cavallino brand admitted a "drastic reduction" in its income due to the pandemic. So any savings measure in its F1 division would be an internal success for Binotto.

Ricciardo, ruled out

Ricciardo, with an astronomical record at Renault, close to 20 million euros gross, was immediately ruled out. Sainz, who was earning around seven million gross at McLaren, was again winning the pulse. The agreed improvement in his salary, which will be around five million net, leaves both parties more than satisfied.

In any case, it is always unfair to leave Carlos's unquestionable virtues on the asphalt until the end. In 2015, the year of his debut in Toro Rosso, he only gave up six hundredths on average in the private qualifying match against Max Verstappen . After ridiculing Daniil Kvyaat , it took him half a season to catch the air for Renault, where he also beat an opponent as solid as Nico Hulkenberg . And last year he didn't fail against Lando Norris either .

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  • Sebastian Vettel
  • Toro Rosso
  • Valtteri Bottas
  • Daniel Ricciardo
  • Nico Hulkenberg
  • Max Verstappen
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Jenson Button
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