Carlos Sainz Jr is grateful McLaren openly supported his bid to move to the Ferrari Formula 1 team in 2021, and that this didn’t involve negotiations behind anyone’s back.
Sainz will leave McLaren after just two years when he joins Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next season, having signed a two-year deal to replace four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel and Ferrari had been expected to reach a new agreement but it has emerged Ferrari made contact with Sainz early in the winter about the prospect of a move.
When Vettel’s exit was announced earlier this month, Sainz was confirmed as his replacement just over 48 hours later.
Sainz said the first contact was made over the winter and that as soon as knew there was interest he approached McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown immediately for “permission to go and talk to them [Ferrari] in a more serious way”.
McLaren was aware it could lose Sainz to Ferrari but needed to relinquish its first option on the Spaniard to facilitate negotiations so early.
Sainz said: “He immediately came to me and said, ‘Look, it’s an opportunity, go and talk to them and see what they’re about’.”
Speaking in an interview with F1’s official channels, Sainz added: “We had a very open relationship. We had always.
“But since that point, we decided to take it in a very open way, keeping us posted mutually in terms of everything that goes on behind the scenes.”
As Sainz’s father – two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sr – and his manager conducted the bulk of the negotiations, Sainz had individual conversations with Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, Brown and McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl.
“The key of this process has been the clarity and the openness of all parties involved to make it happen, and just don’t have any awkward around-the-back situations,” said Sainz.
“That makes me incredibly proud.
“The way it has been managed makes me feel very happy and very thankful to Zak and his team.”
McLaren used the advanced notice it got of Ferrari’s interest in Sainz to re-open conversations with Daniel Ricciardo, who had snubbed the team in 2018 to join Renault instead.
However, McLaren’s impressive 2019 season and problems at Renault helped the Woking-based team convince Ricciardo to move across in the midfield, and the seven-time grand prix winner has agreed to join Lando Norris at McLaren in 2021.
Sainz said he understood the importance of keeping McLaren informed on his negotiations with Ferrari so it could pursue his replacement.
“[They were] disappointed and understanding, but at the same time looking for themselves and for their team,” said Sainz.
“They needed to have clarity for me in case they needed a replacement. And immediately they told me ‘Carlos, please let us know if this is a serious thing because we obviously cannot be left behind. If we are going to go into the market we need to know as soon as possible’.
“At that point, we were all a bit rushed into trying to make decisions as quick as possible in the benefit of everyone involved.
“Their reaction? Very simple. They were happy for me, they congratulated me.
“They said, ‘Look Carlos, you deserve it and I’m sure you will do great there’ and that confidence boost is always nice to hear from your bosses.”
As the final stages of negotiations were conducted during the coronavirus pandemic, Sainz admitted he could only celebrate a potentially career-defining move modestly.
He said he enjoyed “a little champagne” and had dinner with his sisters and parents.
“In the end, I celebrated with people that have been there with me for all this time: my very near family,” said Sainz.
“It was quite an emotional moment and a very special day.”
