Sainz in no rush to decide next move after Ferrari sign Hamilton

Carlos Sainz will take his time to decide where he will spend the “most important three or four years” of his Formula 1 career, after learning Ferrari will replace him with Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

Ferrari announced the signing of blockbuster Hamilton in early February, shortly after signing Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc to a new contract.

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Sainz had entered the offseason hoping to strike a similar deal, but must now look elsewhere.

The Spaniard is a candidate to replace Hamilton at Mercedes, although he is considered a favorite to join the Sauber team in 2025, which would see him in the team when it begins its highly anticipated partnership with Audi next season. next.

“As much as I said I wanted to sort out my future before the first race, the scenario has now changed a lot, as you can imagine,” Sainz said on Tuesday, after Ferrari's F1 2024 launch.

“It's probably going to be a longer process ahead of me. Probably my most important three or four years of my career, where I want to make sure I'm in the right place at the right time.

“I want to make sure I choose the next destination that's right for me, so I want to take my time to think about it, listen to all the options, take a look at all the options.

“Then I can just feel calm, because when I make the decision, I’ve given myself enough time and enough information.”

Ferrari's pursuit of Hamilton made headlines in 2023, notably ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in May, when it was rebuffed by all parties.

It has since emerged that Ferrari continued discussions with Hamilton over a future contract after he signed an extension with Mercedes.

Sainz suggested he knew what was happening well in advance.

“I think there was obviously a bit of a surprise, like everyone in the F1 world, with this news,” Sainz said.

“I think everyone was surprised in some way by what happened. From my side, you can obviously understand that I heard the news a little earlier than anyone else.

“But it’s true that then I had a few weeks to think, a few weeks to prepare and a few weeks to also prepare for the launch of the car, for the first race of the season.

“So that gives you some time to digest this, draw your own conclusions and focus on the 2024 season that lies ahead. But the fact that this came as a surprise to the entire F1 world is not news , and it was obviously also for me.”

Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc said he had been kept informed of what happened.

“Obviously these kinds of deals don't get finalized overnight, they take time, and I was aware of these discussions before I signed my deal, so it didn't come as a surprise after the signing,” Leclerc said.

“I don't want to make a lot of comments, especially out of respect for Carlos, we have had great years together and we still have one more year together to go. We will do absolutely everything to finish on the best possible note.”