LONDON: Carlos Sainz on Thursday joined Ferrari for the 2021 F1 season, replacing Sebastian Vettel, who will leave Ferrari at the end of 2020.
The 25-year old, Sainz, will join the Italian squad on a two-year deal after two seasons at McLaren, creating the youngest driver pairing in Ferrari's recent history in the process.
Reflecting on the same, Sainz expressed elation and said that he is excited about his future with the team.
"I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I'm excited about my future with the team. I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I'm really looking forward to going racing again with them this season," Sainz said in a statement.
The next year will mark the first time since 2007 that Ferrari have not had a current or previous world champion amongst their ranks - unless of course Leclerc wins the 2020 title. However, team principal Mattia Binotto was quick to underline Sainz's experience.
"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. We've embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1," Binotto said.
"It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way to the recent past. We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past fifty years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves," he added.
Earlier today, it was confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will leave Renault to replace Sainz at McLaren for 2021.