“Clouds” in the relationship between Carlos Sainte and Ferrari

It’s very likely that Ferrari will announce Carlos Sainte’s contract extension during these three days at Imola, but rumor has it that not all is rosy in the relationship between the Spaniard and Scuderia.

These “clouds” move in the range of gossip, but in this case, perhaps, there is no smoke without fire. The first problem is reportedly that Carlos Saint wanted a signed contract for two more years (until the end of 2024), but Scuderia offered him a one-year deal with an option to extend it for another year.

The second – rumored – issue is based on recent statements from Ralph Schumacher, Mick’s uncle (who fights with Haas and clearly has his eye on a spot in the Scuderia in the near future), that Sainth is said to be irritated by what he considers “already” describes the priority of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for this year’s title fight.

Starting with Saint’s new contract, there is said to have been an agreement despite Carlos’ desire for a two-year deal and Scuderia’s opinion to the contrary. Sainth recently said in February that “the way things are going is clear to them Ferrari for me too”, and in March that both sides are “very close” to the deal – meaning only signatures remain. “We are both happy with the situation and want to continue our cooperation.”he added.

However, a lot has happened since then. The 27-year-old started this season much worse than hoped and has just two podiums and one drop compared to Charles Leclerc’s two wins in Bahrain and Australia. The Spaniard is already 38 points away from Monegasque in the table.

His troubles in Australia actually started with an engine start problem that didn’t allow him a second fast lap in Q3 of qualifying testing and left him 9th at the start in Melbourne.

Inevitably, these results have already spawned the paraphilology that Ferrari must give Leclerc the ‘anointing’ of the title fight – among other things to protect him from Max Ferstappen’s counterattack following the Dutchman’s two retirements in the three GPs so far this year.

In fact, Ralph Schumacher recently publicly stated that Leclerc is already given this priority internally and that Sainth is “irritated” by it: “The priority at Ferrari has already been identified. Carlos Saint knows this and is irritated. “There used to be a time when someone (Michael Schumacher) was dominant and you knew relatively early on which driver to focus your attention on.”said the German former driver of the Williams F1 and Toyota F1.

Recently, however, Scuderia director Matthias Binotto made it clear that neither of the Italian team’s drivers had made a priority decision and that Saint and Leclerc are free to duel on track – whatever the risk.

Binoto said Saint will return to good performances and former F1 driver Mark Surer agrees: “Sainth is doing a very good job, he also gets along well with Leclerc. It makes no sense to switch the driver out Ferrari in such a short time.

Last year the Saint was slightly better than Leclerc – but the 2021 cars were easier to drive than this year. THAT Ferrari This year it’s more difficult to control at the limit and that’s where Leclerc’s special talent comes out. concluded Surer.