Allure of "dream" Ferrari drive difficult to turn down - Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

Allure of "dream" Ferrari drive difficult to turn down - Sainz

Sainz partners Leclerc at Ferrari this season

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Monday 4 January 2021 17:59

New Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz insisted the allure of the Scuderia was "difficult to say no to" ahead of his debut season at Maranello.

Sainz's switch comes after two seasons at McLaren in which he drove the team to its most successful period of the turbo-hybrid era.

Despite his affection for the Woking-based team, where he developed a close relationship with Lando Norris, Sainz acknowledged driving for Ferrari was an opportunity too appealing to turn down.

"First of all, you are driving for Ferrari. I don't think there's much more to say," he said.

"Becoming a Ferrari driver is in every driver's mind and every driver's dreams. Independently of the situation, it's very, very difficult to say no to that.

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"At that point, I was pretty convinced that as an Italian team...I'd always felt comfortable with Toro Rosso, and I always felt like Ferrari could be a good place for me.

"I know Italian, I know some people there, and I felt like I could have a successful time there immediately.

"Apart from that, I think sentimentally, driving for the most successful team in the history of the sport is always the dream of any Formula 1 driver."

Sainz joins Ferrari on the back of the worst season for the Scuderia since 1980, with the performance differential between the team and its rivals only masked by some stellar performances by new team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Despite this, many will see the move as a step up for the Spaniard. When asked if he was prepared for the switch, he replied: "Yeah, of course.

"I feel ready for whatever comes. I've always said my ultimate goal in Formula 1 is to try to be world champion one day, and I'm ready to take that next step into Ferrari and see how it goes. I feel 100% ready."