Carlos Sainz Jr. has admitted that he was ready for Ferrari to move on from him at the end of his current contract, even if he wasn't expecting the situation to be resolved before the season even started.
The announcements of Charles Leclerc's new contract and Lewis Hamilton's signing from 2025 made it clear that the team has no room for the Spaniard.
Originally, Sainz's Formula 1 contract was scheduled to end after the 2024 season, and he had expressed a desire to finalise his future plans before the start of the upcoming campaign.
However, he currently faces uncertainty about his driving prospects beyond this year.
Carlos Sainz is looking for a new team for 2025Lewis Hamilton is to replace Carlos Sainz in 2025
Sainz 'calm' over future
In an interview with Sky Sports, Sainz expressed his focus on delivering peak performances during his remaining tenure with Ferrari.
“I’m fine, I’m calm, we’re working for the future but above all, for what that we have ahead of us,” Sainz said. “[It's] a very important year, my last year with the team and I want to do the best I can. I’m training to prepare as best I can and give everything.”
Even though he has been excluded from the team's future plans, Sainz has affirmed that he harbors no bitterness or upset feelings about the situation.
“No, it didn't disappoint me,” he said. “Experiencing Ferrari from the inside, I already knew several things and I prepared myself with the team in view of future changes.
“As I said, however, I don't want to think about anything other than how to give my all this season for Ferrari.
“Knowing that it will be the last year with a team is not the most normal thing to start a new season but as soon as I put on my helmet in Bahrain and get on the track, you can be sure that I will only think about going as fast as possible.
“And if there is the chance to become World Champion I will try to take it.”
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