The 2023 Formula 1 season is just three races old and yet Ferrari is already one of the big losers. Carlos Sainz has only managed to collect 20 points, and runner-up Charles can already completely write off the world championship crown with just six points. At the Scuderia, however, there are said to be major doubts about Sainz in particular, and a replacement for the cockpit has long been on the agenda.
If Sainz does not deliver better results in the Ferrari soon, it will be difficult for the Spaniard to fulfil his contract, which runs until the end of 2024, according to “EL Nacional”.
Sainz concedes results aren’t good enough
The Spanish driver himself has conceded that hes’ not getting good enough results at Ferrari, and has even admitted that he expects that it’ll be Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin who’d be more likely to win a Grand Prix.
Sainz followed in the footsteps of his childhood hero by turning pole position into a maiden F1 victory at Silverstone last year. In doing so, he set a new record for the most races won by a driver before claiming his first victory. After that, however, Ferrari’s competitiveness began to wane, winning just one race the rest of the year.
Sainz concedes that Alonso is better placed to secure the 33rd win of his career with Aston Martin than he is to claim his second ever win.
“I think Alonso’s 33 will come before my second victory,” Sainz told Spanish TV.
“The Aston Martin is superior to the Ferrari in race trim, so he is closer to victory,
“If I were at home watching F1, I would be supporting Fernando’s victory,” he added.
Ferrari’s decline and Aston Martin’s revival meant that Alonso and Sainz were battling for position for the first time since the latter’s debut, with the more experienced Spaniard emerging victorious in their shoot-out for the final podium position in the final laps of Bahrain.
If Sainz does not deliver better results in the Ferrari soon, it will be difficult for the Spaniard to fulfil his contract, which runs until the end of 2024, according to “EL Nacional”.
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Ferrari “upset and tired of Carlos Sainz’s excuses”
Ferrari are “starting to get tired” of Sainz, El Nacional report, because he is “not performing as expected”.
In Australia, Sainz was furious about a five-second penalty that dropped him from P4 to P14 and his appeal was rejected by the FIA. Ferrari wants Sainz to “win on the track, not off it” and their stance is to “make it clear that regrets or excuses are useless”.
The article also insists that dissatisfaction with Sainz’s performances has been building “for some time”.
He is “not living up to their expectations” of him becoming their “star driver”, which has “upset” the team.
Team mate not happy with Sainz
Sainz’s development has been a source of disappointment to his team-mate Leclerc too, who is said not to want Sainz as team mate.
The Monegasque driver is “very angry” because Sainz didn’t help him in Australia, it is claimed.
Ferrari plans to chop Sainz out
But that’s not the end of the story: Maranello are reportedly already on the lookout to find Sainz’s replacement. According to El Nacional, three drivers are currently in the running.
Running in the middle of the top 10 in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship has become very, very comfortable for Carlos Sainz Jr. He has finished sixth or fifth in each of the last four seasons, including his McLaren to Ferrari switch. That means that he has the potential to make the leap into championship contention but it still hasn’t happened, a failure to ‘kick on’ so as to speak. Until last season, he had never won a race.
These are facts not ignored by Ferrari who have plans in place to give Sainz the chop and drop the Spaniard from the team.
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A leaked “options list” is said to include the names of Sergio Pérez, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
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Verstappen 💥 Ricciardo
Red Bull's 2018 Baku outing ended in disaster #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/esU6ZtVBi5
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 25, 2023
Sergio Perez
Perez is the Red Bull teammate of world champion Max Verstappen and has a contract with the Bulls until 2024. While the Mexican has proven to be a formidable wingman in the past and played a key role in Verstappen’s maiden title win in 2021, he has had his share of disagreements with the Dutchman.
It is not out of the question that Perez will be tempted by a new challenge by returning to the Ferrari family, the team that gave the Mexican his first break into Formula 1 with Sauber as a Ferrari junior driver.
Lando Norris
Norris is tied to McLaren until 2025, and for the British driver, who experts believe is capable of great things, the Ferrari cockpit would be a tempting career move.
The British driver had revealed in January this year that he has had exploratory talks with several teams beforehand, not just Red Bull as had been reported at the time.
“It was different conversations with different people.” admitted Norris,
“What could happen now? What could possibly happen in the future? Everybody has those conversations. Everybody does that towards the end of every contract. That’s a fact.” not giving away names.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton, on the other hand, is unlikely to be in a position to make a major career move. The 38-year-old has been with Mercedes since 2013 and is responsible for the team’s most successful period. Hamilton’s contract expires at the end of the season, but anything other than another collaboration would be sensational shakeup in the driver market.
Rumours circulated in the media at the start of the year that Hamilton would stay at Woking until 2035. According to these rumours, the British driver would take up a position with the team after his driving days are over.
A scenario that Hamilton himself has mentioned as a goal, but comes with a huge financial cost to Mercedes.
El Nacional also believes that signing Hamilton would be the “most ambitious” option for Ferrari.
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Before Ferrari replaces Carlos, they must confirm that Charles is going to stay. Of the three mentioned drivers, only Nando would be an asset. The others two is way past their “best”
Confirming Charles’ position is unnecessary because he’s already under contract until next year’s end, meaning he’s supposed to drive for them next season anyway.
Regardless of contractual situations, i.e., Sainz, Perez, & Norris, all being under contract beyond this year’s end, I don’t expect anything to change within the top teams nor any other bar, maybe AT, with one driver.