Ferrari admit to being late with driver contracts, but "it's not a problem"

Ferrari admit to being late with driver contracts, but “it’s not a problem”. Ferrari boss talks about the contracts of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari, Those Contracts That Aren’t Arriving
“We need to make a decision on the drivers’ contracts before the end of the year.” With these words, Frederic Vasseur had postponed the deadline for negotiations with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to winter. The Ferrari team principal focused on the track, leaving contractual matters for last. But now that the season is over, the two drivers are still without a contract starting from January 1, 2025.

Fred Vasseur’s comments
Should Ferrari fans be concerned? According to the Frenchman, no: “Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are under contract with us until the end of 2024, so they still have 13 months. At the time, Mercedes had renewed contracts at the end of August. I would say we still have plenty of months of margin.”

Fred Vasseur, however, admitted that he had to revise the initial plans of reaching a decision in winter. It is now certain that the official announcement about the future of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will come in the new year: “I must admit that a year ago, I promised that I would make a decision by the end of this year. The last part of the season, however, has been chaotic, for everyone. We are discussing it now, but we are behind the initial schedule. However, it’s not a problem. Will we sign them before the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season? That can be the goal.” – the French manager pointed out in his interview with the media on Saturday evening.

An Almost Obligatory Renewal
The discussions continue, and even though the decision is taking time to arrive, it is reasonable to assume that Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz all have interests in remaining connected in the future. The drivers are happy with the team, and the team is content with the drivers. In this case, external circumstances make the difference: all the seats in the top teams are occupied, with the exception of the second position in Red Bull (but the Milton Keynes team does not want strong competition at home) and potentially one at Aston Martin.