Charles Leclerc has been a driving force for Ferrari. His prowess on the racetrack has led each Tifosi to believe that the team’s title drought will soon come to an end. But despite being associated with Ferrari for the past five years, he hasn’t been able to change their situation. Sometimes this favoritism of the Tifosi and the team weighs on the driver, who has been working tirelessly and has recently been associated with shifting allegiances. However, now that 2023 has performed well for Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard has established himself as far more valuable than Charles Leclerc for 2 reasons.
Carlos Sainz’s talent and season aren’t being reflected by his driver’s championship point differential, which is currently 7 with Leclerc leading. In order to fully honor his desire for Ferrari, the 28-year-old who joined the Prancing Horse in 2021 has worked hard and altered his driving style. And it appears that this has impressed not only the F1 community but also Audi, a team that will join the World of Formula 1 in 2026.
And recently this has been the reason for Carlos Sainz’s future at Ferrari appearing to be up in the air, as the 28-year-old was rumored to have signed a pre-contract with Sauber. And this is not the first time that Sainz has been the subject of persistent rumors about shifting allegiances. In fact, Audi explicitly stated that Sainz will be the focal point of a project back in April, only if the Ferrari driver is interested.
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However, none of these reports appear to have an impact on the Ferrari camp, as Vasseur stated that the contract negotiations will take place after the winter before signing the rumored Leclerc contract. Although given that Sainz’s contract is set to expire in 2024 and amidst the Prancing Horse’s favoritism to Leclerc, the Maranello base has two reasons to value Sainz higher than Charles Leclerc.
Recently, Richard Bradley. The 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner has highlighted two reasons for Ferrari to believe how valuable Sainz is to the team. The Champion claimed that Sainz’s experience with teams like Toro Rosso (AlphaTauri), Renault, McLaren, and Ferrari on the F1 grid had given him insight into how various teams operate. “I think it’s a really interesting one because you know, the one thing with Carlos is, as I said because he’s driven with so many teams, he’s seen so many different philosophies and how so many different teams were from that side of it he’s actually very, very valuable rather than someone like, say, Charles Leclerc, who’s only been at Alfa Romeo, which is going to be Audi and Ferrari, you know, if Carlos has got a lot more visibility on how different philosophies structures work.”
In order to advance Leclerc in the race, the team has neglected Sainz frequently this season. In light of this, despite getting overlooked and now being associated with a number of pre-contract ideas, what is Carlos Sainz’s strategy?
Amid favoritism to Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz will Carlos Sainz change his loyalty
With the SF23’s handling, the Spaniard driver has been outstanding this year. And since the car appears to have suited him better, the 28-year-old believes his performance has earned him the right to lead Ferrari. Though the favoritism of Leclerc at times has spoiled the race for the Spanish driver.
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Even if Sainz has once again been linked to Audi four months after again being linked to the House of Four Rings, three of Sainz’s plans were made apparent from those closest to him, which displays the true meaning of loyalty.
Despite Carlos Sainz’s father having a close connection with the Volkswagen Group, which is the brand that owns Audi the news reports as per motosports.com revealed that for Sainz, “Plan A is Ferrari. Plan B is Ferrari and plan C also remains Ferrari.” With this statement, despite his name being tied with other teams, his passion for Ferrari remains apparent.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Is Carlos Sainz Looking to Move away from Ferrari?
Do you think Sainz can progress by switching, or will he eventually gain the value he needs at the Prancing Horse by remaining loyal?