Well, that didn't take long! Just a couple of days after it was announced that Sebastian Vettel would leave Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow at the end of the 2020 season, so it's been confirmed that Carlos Sainz will take his place for 2021.
Ferrari will be the fourth team in Sainz's F1 career; having begun at Toro Rosso in 2015 (and with more than 100 Grands Prix starts now under his belt) he switched to Renault from the 2017 US Grand Prix, before becoming a McLaren driver last year. No doubt his performances for the recently rejuvenated McLaren will have impressed, including his first podium at Brazil in 2019 (having started 20th) and finishing 6th overall in last year's championship.
Sainz said of his new role: "I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I'm excited about my future with the team." Team Principal Mattia Binotto added: "I'm pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari as from the 2021 championship. With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family."
Interestingly, the pairing of Sainz and Leclerc will be the youngest Ferrari has ever fielded on an F1 grid; the former is currently 25, Leclerc just 22. Binotto suggested that the partnership "will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves." Which, surely, has to be competing for the Scuderia's first championship in comfortably more than a decade (assuming it doesn't happen in 2020), the last such trophy being the 2008 Constructors' crown. Certainly, it would seem the driver line up is sorted - now let's see the car...
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