Ferrari has confirmed Spanish driver Carlos Sainz will replace Sebastian Vettel in 2021.
As ESPN reported on Wednesday, Ferrari moved quickly to sign Sainz after confirmation it had not come to an agreement with Vettel over extending the four-time world champion’s contract beyond this season.
The news came shortly after McLaren confirmed the signing of Daniel Ricciardo as Sainz’s replacement.
Sainz, the son of the two-time World Rally Championship winner of the same name, enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 which included the first F1 podium finish of his career so far at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Sainz said: “I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I’m excited about my future with the team. I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I’m really looking forward to going racing again with them this season.”
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has heralded the arrival of Sainz as the start of a “new cycle” for Ferrari, which he hopes leads them to a world championship.
“Im pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari as from the 2021 championship. With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family.
“We’ve embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula One. It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way to the recent past.
“We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past fifty years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves.”