Future of Sainz at Ferrari: "Will be a simple and easy discussion"

With a last minute podium for Carlos Sainz the Spaniard is leaving an unforgettable impression at Ferrari after his first year with the team. Sainz took fifth place in the championship in Abu Dhabi, beating teammate Charles Leclerc.

Sainz scores high points

It was a fantastic podium for Sainz in Abu Dhabi. Not only did he grab his sixth ever F1 podium, but it was also the hundredth for Ferrari in the turbo-hybrid era and the podium that earned him fifth in the championship. The Ferrari driver beat teammate Charles Leclerc and rival Lando Norris at the last minute.

That he managed to beat Leclerc in his first year with the Italian team is a special fact. Not only because Leclerc was the team's favourite, but also because Sainz, unlike Daniel Ricciardo for example, had a strong command of his car in his first year with the team. According to team principal Mattia Binotto, Sainz does not have to worry too much about his future with the team.

Binotto protects investment in Leclerc

Speaking to Racer.com the Italian says that negotiations on his contract extension have not yet begun, but that he is keen to get round the table with Sainz soon. Binotto particularly wants to know how the Spaniard feels at the team at the moment: "We discuss last season and then look at the future together. It will be a simple and easy discussion."

Binotto is reserved about Sainz's remarkable victory over Leclerc. The team boss seems to want to protect the team's investment in Leclerc and stresses that Leclerc had two bad weekends in Budapest and Monaco, which caused him to miss out on at least forty points. "Without that loss he would have been much higher up in the championship," he said.