Before the start of the 2023 season, Ferrari looked to bounce back stronger, giving Red Bull a run for its money. However, things turned out to be very different once the cars hit the track. Things look more and more gloomy for the Tifosi with each passing race weekend. Now as we wait for the 4th outing in Azerbaijan later this month, rumors started flying around concerning Carlos Sainz and his future with the Maranello team. To put to rest all those speculations, the Spaniard has come out issuing a clarification with some stern words.
Last year, despite Red Bull’s unprecedented dominance, Charles Leclerc secured the 2nd position in the standings ahead of Sergio Perez. Throughout the campaign, the Monegasque outperformed his teammate. That gave way to the rumors of him being the management’s favorite ahead of Carlos. Now, the rumors of Sainz joining Audi in 2026 have surfaced.
Carlos Sainz furious with speculations over his future
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In his last outing in Australia, Sainz fell prey to a questionable penalty from the stewards. Ferrari appealed the decision, but the FIA refused to overturn it. That had already made the Ferrari driver angry, and now the rumors of him seeking a move away from the team in 2026 have angered him further.
El Espanol quoted him as saying, “It surprises me a lot. Starting to talk about 2026 when I don’t even have a contract in 2025 surprises me, especially that people make things up.” [Translated using Google]
“On the one hand, it makes me laugh and, on the other, it pi**es me off that invented rumors come out without corroborate. Nobody will ever go to that journalist and say why he wrote something that was a lie. My goal is to be at Ferrari for many years, I am comfortable here and I am in a dream.”
Neither Carlos nor his team has started the season well. Where they were expected to take the fight to Red Bull, they are only making do with fighting against Aston Martin and Mercedes.
Sainz opens up on the fight against Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Red Bull
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Last year, Carlos came out worse in the fight against reliability issues than Charles. Moreover, multiple unlucky crashes left him retiring from the races prematurely. This year, his teammate is taking the brunt of the mechanical failures more than him. Despite luck favoring him more than Charles, Carlos has only managed P5 on the standings. That is because the Prancing Horse just hasn’t put on display speed that is good enough to challenge for the podium finishes.
Speaking on the fight with the rivals, the Spaniard said, “I think they have been a bit more consistent than us, especially Aston Martin, who have a better car in the race. Mercedes is more irregular. We look at Red Bull, which is the reference.”
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Watch This Story: Is Carlos Sainz Looking to Move away from Ferrari?
Do you think Ferrari can challenge for race wins or podium finishes as action resumes in Baku at the end of this month?