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Ferrari is expected shortly to conclude a deal to sign Carlos Sainz from McLaren to replace Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 Formula One season. As a result, Daniel Ricciardo is believed to be moving from Renault to replace Sainz.
Both movements are expected to be announced before the weekend. Ferrari pitting Sainz against teammate Charles Leclerc ends with the conjecture that Lewis Hamilton would join Scuderia.
Ferrari announced Tuesday that they would not renew Vettel’s contract after this season and the team wants to quickly conclude a deal for his replacement. Sainz is believed to represent the ideal partner for Leclerc. He is only 25, but has completed five F1 seasons, including the best race at McLaren last year, with a podium finish in Brazil.
The move will be an important step for Sainz, who is the son of world multi-rally champion Carlos Sainz Sr.. He started his career with Toro Rosso before moving to Renault in 2017 and then McLaren last year. It has been hugely impressive, but it will certainly start as Leclerc’s No. 2 at Ferrari.
For the Scuderia, he is a driver with reasonable experience but without the expense or potential conflict of a proven race winner taking on a No. 2 role. Ferrari will have noticed the productive and friendly relationship Sainz forged with Lando Norris at McLaren, where he has enjoyed the atmosphere.
The deal has yet to be finalized, but Sainz Sr has acknowledged that an impending resolution was expected. “It is true that things have moved a lot lately,” he said. “I want to think that sooner or later there will be a solution because we cannot wait another two months or more to follow these rumors and these stories. I cannot tell you anything else because it is a delicate situation. “
Ricciardo was in negotiations with McLaren before opting to join Red Bull’s Renault in 2019, but the Australian has been disappointed by the French team’s failure to make the incursion. McLaren, on the other hand, enjoyed his best season since 2012 and will have Mercedes engines in 2021. CEO Zak Brown is known to rate Ricciardo as one of the best drivers in the sport and one of the most successful in overtaking.
The moves will leave an open seat at Renault, with Fernando Alonso, who scored his two world championships with the team, linked to a possible return to F1 or Vettel potentially joining Esteban Ocon on the French team.
