Dec.9 (GMM) Ferrari is not closing the door on a potential future return for Carlos Sainz.
To make way for the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, team boss Frederic Vasseur told Sainz early this year that he needs to vacate his red cockpit at the end of the season.
That moment came in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but Sainz said he focused on remaining as unemotional as possible during the season finale.
“I’m not going to lie,” said the Spaniard, “in those last laps, as much as I was pushing like hell for this team, I was already reminding myself to remember how this feels.
“Because tomorrow and Tuesday I need to remember why this car is quick in this and that corner and why does it feel good,” added Sainz, who is being immediately released to Williams for a ‘filming day’ on Monday and then the official post-season test the following day.
“We still have some days in Maranello coming up, but obviously my competitive mind is already looking forward to Monday and Tuesday and to see how I can make that Williams car faster.”
The 30-year-old has said on multiple occasions in 2024 that as difficult as his Ferrari departure is, he wanted to part on good terms to leave the door open for the future.
However, he admitted in Abu Dhabi: “Honestly, I don’t know how serious it is that Ferrari would need me in six, seven, eight years from now.”
Team boss Vasseur, however, insisted that the door to Maranello will indeed remain genuinely open for a potential Sainz comeback one day.
“For the future, the door is certainly open for him,” he told DAZN. “We’ve already talked about this a couple of times.
“This is a very small world, there are only ten teams and only six or seven top drivers, and you never know what can happen in the future. Of course, both Carlos on his side and me on my side, have to focus on our projects.
“But I don’t know what will happen in 2027, 2028, 2029,” Vasseur added.
The Frenchman admitted to being left with a “strange” feeling late on Sunday in Abu Dhabi – with Sainz departing, and McLaren beating Ferrari to the constructors’ title despite both Ferraris being on the podium.
“I don’t know if I’m proud, but it is true that we improved a lot compared to last year in all areas, and the dynamic is positive, but it’s difficult to end like this,” said Vasseur.
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, drew a close to his working relationship with Sainz by hitting back at the latest suggestions that the pair part in acrimony.
Earlier in Abu Dhabi, Leclerc said he will not miss Sainz as a teammate.
“I’ve seen a lot of false headlines in the past few days,” Leclerc insisted on Sunday. “My words were not put in the right context.
“When I said I wouldn’t miss Carlos, I only did that because he will be just 20 metres away. I had an incredibly good relationship with Carlos, he is such a good person, and we have a very good relationship,” he added.
“It’s normal that we had our frictions on the track, but all of these things ultimately strengthened our good relationship and brought us closer together.
“We have a lot in common off the track too and even though he won’t be racing in red next year, I’m very sure that we’ll continue to spend time together and travel to the races together,” Leclerc said.
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