Dec.9 (GMM) Ferrari isn’t closing the door on a possible future return for Carlos Sainz.
To make manner for the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, group boss Frederic Vasseur advised Sainz early this yr that he must vacate his crimson cockpit on the finish of the season.
That second got here in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, however Sainz stated he centered on remaining as unemotional as potential throughout the season finale.
“I’m not going to lie,” stated the Spaniard, “in these final laps, as a lot as I used to be pushing like hell for this group, I used to be already reminding myself to recollect how this feels.
“As a result of tomorrow and Tuesday I want to recollect why this automotive is fast on this and that nook and why does it really feel good,” added Sainz, who’s being instantly launched to Williams for a ‘filming day’ on Monday after which the official post-season check the next day.
“We nonetheless have some days in Maranello developing, however clearly my aggressive thoughts is already wanting ahead to Monday and Tuesday and to see how I could make that Williams automotive sooner.”
The 30-year-old has stated on a number of events in 2024 that as troublesome as his Ferrari departure is, he needed to half on good phrases to go away the door open for the longer term.
Nevertheless, he admitted in Abu Dhabi: “Actually, I don’t understand how severe it’s that Ferrari would want me in six, seven, eight years from now.”
Staff boss Vasseur, nevertheless, insisted that the door to Maranello will certainly stay genuinely open for a possible Sainz comeback in the future.
“For the longer term, the door is definitely open for him,” he advised DAZN. “We’ve already talked about this a few instances.
“This can be a very small world, there are solely ten groups and solely six or seven prime drivers, and also you by no means know what can occur sooner or later. In fact, each Carlos on his aspect and me on my aspect, must concentrate on our initiatives.
“However I don’t know what’s going to occur in 2027, 2028, 2029,” Vasseur added.
The Frenchman admitted to being left with a “unusual” feeling late on Sunday in Abu Dhabi – with Sainz departing, and McLaren beating Ferrari to the constructors’ title regardless of each Ferraris being on the rostrum.
“I don’t know if I’m proud, however it’s true that we improved rather a lot in comparison with final yr in all areas, and the dynamic is optimistic, however it’s troublesome to finish like this,” stated Vasseur.
Charles Leclerc, in the meantime, drew a near his working relationship with Sainz by hitting again on the newest options that the pair half in acrimony.
Earlier in Abu Dhabi, Leclerc stated he won’t miss Sainz as a teammate.
“I’ve seen loads of false headlines prior to now few days,” Leclerc insisted on Sunday. “My phrases weren’t put in the fitting context.
“Once I stated I wouldn’t miss Carlos, I solely did that as a result of he can be simply 20 metres away. I had an extremely good relationship with Carlos, he’s such an excellent particular person, and we have now an excellent relationship,” he added.
“It’s regular that we had our frictions on the monitor, however all of this stuff in the end strengthened our good relationship and introduced us nearer collectively.
“We now have rather a lot in frequent off the monitor too and although he received’t be racing in crimson subsequent yr, I’m very certain that we’ll proceed to spend time collectively and journey to the races collectively,” Leclerc stated.
