Sainz's happiness after the renewal and his dart of irony: "You don't know how I laughed in recent weeks"

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Under the leaden sky and the fine rain of Imola,

distilled so much happiness that he had to share it among the Ferrari people.

As soon as he paraded through the

, the man from Madrid shared hugs with his closest group and some sweets as a gift with engineers and mechanics.

The announcement of its renewal until 2024 was the culmination of five months of negotiations and the reward for a job well done: "It is the team of my dreams and it has the fastest car on the grid. I am 27 years old and very hungry for victories. I couldn't be happier."

Since last December, when the talks began, Sainz never doubted that the agreement would come to fruition.

"You can imagine how much I laughed at home in recent weeks, when some media began to doubt my future," said Sainz ironically before the swarm of journalists gathered at the

Ferrari

Signing for two more years is the best revalidation for the man from Madrid, who made Maranello fall in love with a formidable debut season and who is now racking his brains to find a way to follow in the footsteps of

.

Despite having scored less than half the points of the World Cup leader, Carlos feels that he is progressing, step by step, behind the wheel of the SF-75.

Without going any further, two weeks ago, only a red flag canceled his chances of

in Melbourne.

"There are cars that you adapt to naturally because they fit your driving style. It happened to me last year, but this season the one who has totally fit in has been Charles," admitted Sainz.

Vettel's collapse in 2020

The eagerness for the first victory is not going to drive Carlos crazy, who knows, better than anyone, his room for improvement.

Although no environment is more conducive than the Autodromo Nazionale, a place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of

, it will continue to be averse to urgencies or deadlines.

And that mental strength dazzles, before any other virtue,

.

The

Ferrari team knows that Sainz complements Leclerc like no other and that he will not collapse against the Monegasque as

did in 2020.

In addition, the continuity strategy in the red garage further highlights the doubts of Mercedes or Red Bull, who still do not know how they will resolve the future of

, who is closer to retirement every day, or the identity of

's partner .

At the moment, the reigning champion seems to be the only current alternative to Ferrari.

And Sainz is still reminded of that rivalry at Toro Rosso, back in 2015 and 2016. "Do you consider yourself at the level of Charles and Max?" They asked him yesterday.

"Faster, obviously," he answered, hardly moving a muscle.

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• Carlos Sainz Jr.