Ferrari president John Elkann has revealed that the team intends to retain Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as its driver line-up beyond the terms of their existing deals.
Leclerc and Sainz have been partnered since the latter arrived from McLaren in 2021 and the pair will combine to front Ferrari’s charge for a fourth consecutive season in 2024.
However, their respective contracts expire at the conclusion of next year and both drivers have been repeatedly linked with potential moves elsewhere throughout this season.
Prior to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell renewing through 2025, Leclerc had been entertained by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff as an option for the German marque.
But speaking at Exor’s Investor Day, Elkann appeared to confirm that both individuals are in line to receive contract extensions. “Sainz and Leclerc? They will stay, of course.”
Ferrari’s hopes of stringing together a sustained title bid in 2023 were hampered by struggles to get on top of a capricious SF-23 car that couldn’t match Red Bull’s pace.
However, the Maranello squad rebounded from a tough start to the campaign to secure the only non-Red Bull victory of the year, almost beating Mercedes to second place.
With Ferrari amassing a total of seven pole positions over the season, Elkann has stressed the need for the side to translate its qualifying exploits into race wins in 2024.
“Ferrari’s season was disappointing, but the way it ended, we could almost have finished second and at the same time it was positive that in the last part of the championship, we were fighting for second place,” he noted.
“If you look at the number of poles Ferrari has taken, it’s a high number. We have to take that into account and move forward in the next championships and convert those pole positions into wins.”
Leclerc has been associated with Ferrari since March 2016, graduating through the ranks to be promoted to the senior F1 team after only a single season in the top flight.
The Monegasque instantly delivered at the sharp end, delivering two victories – including Ferrari’s first at Monza in nine years – alongside outscoring four-time World Champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
After two barren years in the midfield, Ferrari returned to race-winning ways upon F1’s switch to ground effect regulations as Leclerc led a 1-2 at the opening round.
But with Red Bull swiftly out-developing Ferrari, Leclerc could only scoop another two victories. However, he did hold off Sergio Perez to clinch second in the standings.
Sainz also added to Ferrari’s win tally for 2022 with his maiden triumph at Silverstone, while he also converted pole position into a fine victory in Singapore earlier this year.
The Spaniard was handpicked as the driver to replace Vettel in the team in 2021, achieving a total of 16 podiums and five pole positions alongside those two wins to date.
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