Sainz wants swift end to contract rumours

Carlos Sainz wants Ferrari to end all the speculation about his race seat by concluding contract negotiations by early next year.

The Spaniard signed an initial two-year deal with the Maranello team that kicked off in 2021, but in April of 2022 he extended that deal for 2023 and 2024.

But in Monaco, the 28-year-old and his teammate Charles Leclerc arrived in the Principality to rumours that Lewis Hamilton could soon be replacing one of them.

Sainz wants the speculation about him to be short-lived.

"Obviously I don’t want to reveal my contract negotiation strategies because that’s something I never reveal," he said.

"But if you’ve heard my interviews in the past, I’ve always said that I like to start the season knowing where I’ll be racing next year because I went through that experience at Renault and it didn’t suit me at all.

"It is not necessary to get a contract this year, but at least before the beginning of next year or at the very beginning of it," he added.

However, he insisted that he isn’t overly worried about the rumours.

"Honestly no, because in the end I don’t think it’s necessary," said Sainz.

"I know that at this time of year there are always rumours like this - it’s the time of the silly season. I’ve been in F1 long enough, over eight years, to know it’s that time of the year."