It is no longer a secret that Carlos Sainz dreams of renewing his contract with Scuderia Ferrari. For the Spanish driver, who had a splendid race in Austria last weekend (but was unfortunately penalized for track limits and as a result was relegated to sixth position at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix), staying with the Maranello team would be a hugely important achievement.
He has reiterated this several times, although for now, Frederic Vasseur has stated that he has not discussed a contract extension with him or Charles Leclerc.
During an interview with Channel 4 TV, after the race held at the 4.318-kilometre Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Carlos Sainz confirmed his desire to remain with the Red team, also mentioning “unfinished business”:
“I believe that staying in Ferrari is my number one priority. I feel good here, and I am happy. Furthermore, I believe we have a lot of unfinished business.” The Spanish driver specified what he meant: “Especially if we can turn this situation around and become fast and competitive again.”
For Carlos Sainz, being in Ferrari means “being part of this long-term project.” The next step will be to “obviously get in touch with the Ferrari management and see what happens.”
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The Spanish driver concluded the Spielberg weekend with a third place in the Saturday sprint race and a sixth place in the Sunday race. In theory, car #55 had finished fourth after a tough battle for position with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez, who ultimately prevailed thanks to the superior speed of his impressive RB19, which allowed him to finish on the podium despite starting from P15 at the Red Bull Ring.
However, the FIA accepted Aston Martin’s complaint about the exceeded track limits by the drivers, many of whom were penalized and lost their original positions. Among them, Carlos Sainz was also sanctioned with a ten-second penalty, causing him to slip from fourth to sixth place in the 2023 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
