Ferrari have made their Charles Leclerc decision – it’s time for Carlos Sainz to get out

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are both out of contract in 2024, but while the Monaco player is set to sign a new long-term contract, his team-mates are not receiving the same treatment.
There was little separating Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as team-mates, but it appears they are far from being treated equally by Ferrari.
Leclerc outscored his partner in two of their three seasons together.
However, this statistic would likely have been different if Sainz hadn’t suffered a lot of bad luck in the final weeks of the 2023 season.
The Monegasque was also victorious when it came to his F1 race wins, winning five times.
Sainz, by contrast, has only won twice, but was the only Ferrari driver to win this year and the only man not driving for Red Bull to reach the top step of the podium.
Overall, both performed well, even without the championship-winning vehicle.
And of course, like all top teams, Ferrari will never publicly admit that it prefers one driver over the other.
Although apparently that’s what they’re trying to do.
According to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Leclerc is set to sign a new five-year contract extension, meaning he will remain with the team for at least 10 years, while Sainz has one more year left on his current deal.
It is expected that only a year will be given.
Now you understand the logic behind the different approaches.
With the five-year deal, the team has secured one of its spots long-term, and we know that Leclerc, a very talented racer, will occupy that position.
And a short-term contract with another driver gives them flexibility to act should an exciting talent become available, in this case Lando Norris.
But logical or not, this is a pretty risky move for a team that seems to believe that its lack of championship honors in the past 15 years hasn’t hurt its appeal.
is.
That would be especially true if Norris was indeed the intended target, given the strong position the Brits are currently in.
The Brit has a strong affinity for his current McLaren team, which has overcome a disastrous start to the year and ended the season this way.
In terms of race pace, they are definitely Red Bull’s biggest rivals.
And if Norris did indeed decide to leave for whatever reason, why would he choose Ferrari over Red Bull themselves, who have by far the best car on the grid and have wanted him for years?
Ferrari may have moved up one spot ahead of McLaren this year, but will a move to Maranello really be a huge step forward?
Or just one?
Indeed, Ferrari is still the world’s best-known and most popular team on the grid, which played a big role in Sainz ditching McLaren to join his current team, but in real life Norris It’s hard to imagine him being influenced by romance novels.
However, they hedge their bets and potentially leave Sainz’s seat free for a new player, making it clear that Leclerc is ultimately the most important person for them in the long run.
It shows people and all of us.
And no one would blame Sainz for looking elsewhere, especially if Red Bull come knocking for 2025.