Carlos Sainz says he's really close to penning a new Ferrari contract

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz says he is close to signing a new contract with the team, whilst Mattia Binotto says it is just a matter of translating their discussions and agreements onto paper.

The new Formula 1 season kicked off on Sunday afternoon with the Bahrain Grand Prix and it was certainly a memorable weekend for Ferrari, who earned a one-two finish.

Indeed, Charles Leclerc brought the victory home as he converted pole into a win whilst Sainz was on hand to pick up the pieces as Max Verstappen had to retire, with him sweeping home in second.

A great result for the Scuderia and a reminder that Ferrari are well and truly back in terms of fighting for race victories and, potentially, both world championships.

That said, then, it’s been no surprise to hear that Carlos Sainz has been wanting to get a new contract sorted with the team and, indeed, it looks as though it’s just a matter of formalities being sorted now before he has exactly that done:

 “I think we are close. Very close. Very, very close. Very close. Extremely close. Nearly there,” Sainz said on his contract talks after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Indeed, it was a tone that Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto also maintained, with him saying it’s just a case of getting the agreement into physical form:

“I think we found an agreement. It’s only a matter to translate it into paper.”

It’s been a very strong opening to the season for Ferrari and both drivers, then, and they’ll be looking to keep momentum up as they head to Saudi Arabia with the rest of the F1 circus this weekend.

Sainz actually said he felt he had a lot more to learn with the new car, meanwhile, and so once he cracks it we can perhaps expect even stronger performances from him over the weekend.