The 2020 Formula 1 season is on hiatus due to coronavirus but 2021 is already taking shape: Carlos Sainz Jr has been chosen by Ferrari to succeed Sebastian Vettel and his wheel at McLaren will go to Daniel Ricciardo. The British stable opened the ball of announcements Thursday with the recruitment for "several years" of the Australian of 30 years, who will be associated with the British Lando Norris, 20 years, renewed for a third season. Ferrari followed by confirming that it had signed with Sainz, 25, for 2021 and 2022.
“We believe that a pair of drivers with the talent and personality of Charles (Leclerc, under contract until 2024, editor's note) and Carlos, the youngest of the last fifty years for Scuderia, will be the best possible association for us achieve the goals we have set for ourselves, ”explains the main team Mattia Binotto.
In this case, the Prancing Horse has been chasing a world title among drivers since that of Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 and among manufacturers since that of 2008.
Son of double world rally champion Carlos Sainz and product of the Red Bull young driver industry, Sainz Jr joined the top category of motorsport in 2015 at Toro Rosso, before joining Renault in October 2017 and McLaren in 2019. Son best ranking in the world championship is a sixth position last season, which saw him take his first podium, third place in Brazil.
" Step forward "
Ricciardo, himself, has been racing in F1 since 2011 and raced for Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 before joining Renault in 2019, with results not up to his ambitions. He had had discussions with McLaren before joining the French team and was also regularly linked to Ferrari by the rumor due, among other things, to his Italian origins.
The Australian has 29 podiums including seven successes and three pole positions in his record. His best championship rankings are two third places in 2014 and 2016.
. @ Carlossainz55 to race for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow in 2021 and 2022https: //t.co/XA3xLP0a77
- Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 14, 2020"Signing with Daniel is another step forward in our long-term project (to bring the team back to success after difficult years since 2013, note)," says McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Another step in this plan, the team based in Woking (England), powered by Renault until the end of 2020, will be powered again next season by Mercedes, which has dominated F1 since the introduction of hybrid engines in 2014. Renault , whose second driver is French Esteban Ocon, who has a contract until the end of 2021, plus an option for 2022, will now have to find a replacement for Ricciardo.
"I am confident that the 2020 season will allow us to achieve more together and our ambitions as well as the Renault DP World F1 Team strategy as a team remain identical," commented his boss Cyril Abiteboul, also in a press release. Even with Vettel potentially on the market, the French team could rather be tempted to reconnect with an old love: Fernando Alonso, 38, who has retired from the category since the end of 2018.
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