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Carlos Sainz poked fun at recent speculation over his Ferrari contract negotiations, saying “you can imagine how much I was laughing at home” when he read suggestions talks had stalled.
Sainz and Ferrari have been talking up the likelihood of a new deal since the end of last season but a lack of confirmation had led to rumours there a problem may have emerged.
This included the specific assertion that Sainz’s camp wanted a two-year deal but Ferrari was only willing to offer a one-plus-one.
Ferrari then announced on Thursday, ahead of the fourth round of the 2022 Formula 1 season at Imola, that Sainz had signed a new contract keeping him with the team until the end of 2024.
“You can imagine how much I was laughing at home when people started writing these things because I had everything pretty much done,” Sainz said of the rumours.
“And we were just waiting for Imola to announce.
“It’s funny times like always in Formula 1, with the gossip and all that.”
Sainz joined Ferrari in 2021 on a two-year deal and had a strong first season alongside Charles Leclerc, beating his highly-rated new team-mate in the championship.
The contract renewal has seemed a no-brainer for a long time, even though Leclerc has started the 2022 season in better form.
“It was super straightforward, to be honest,” said Sainz.
“It’s been easy going. I guess after such a good first year like we had, just getting to agree through the winter was fairly easy for both parties.
“And now having the opportunity to announce in a place like Imola in front of the Tifosi on a weekend like this, I think it was ideal.
“So, we put together a good plan for the announcement being here.”
Sainz’s new deal will cement his Ferrari stint as the longest spell at a single team in his entire F1 career.
He started at Toro Rosso, where he spent more than 2.5 seasons before switching to Renault towards the end of the 2017 season and sticking with the French manufacturer for 2018.
Sainz then joined McLaren in 2019 and would likely have spent more than two years with the British team had the opportunity not arisen to sign for Ferrari.
It was at McLaren that Sainz felt real career security for the first time and he says he feels the same at Ferrari, especially now he has finalised his second contract with the team.
“I think it’s key,” he said. “It’s no secret recently that not only me, I think you’ve heard also other drivers saying that it’s important on the driver side to have the full mind focus on the performance, on the racing and not having to focus too much on what the future holds.
“And for me, since I discovered this when I raced for McLaren I’ve been very vocal towards it.
“Honestly, I’ve been pretty sure all the winter that we were going to secure this so it’s not like I was worried in the first three races.
“But it always gives you that extra bit of a boost.”
Sainz scored two podiums in the first two races of 2022 although suffered an awful Australian Grand Prix weekend, where he was compromised by an ill-timed red flag and a mechanical problem in qualifying, then suffered a steering wheel problem before the start of the race.
That triggered a poor start and Sainz spun out of the race on lap two trying too hard, by his own admission, to recover.
It has left him trailing team-mate and championship leader Leclerc by 38 points but he was much closer to Leclerc’s level in Melbourne before the weekend imploded.
And Leclerc said he is “very happy” that Sainz has re-signed.
“Carlos is a great guy other than just a very good driver too,” said Leclerc.
“We have a very good relationship. We also work together very well.
“But I think what is the most important is that we also have the same feedback, we need the same things from the car and this is extremely important for the future of the team, for us to both push in the same direction.
“And this has been the case for the last year and a half and I think we are already seeing the benefits.
“So, having Carlos in the team for the next two years is great.”
