Sainz. To. Ferrari.
Published on May 14, 2020
Fuck yes, things are happening in Formula 1.
Following Sebastian Vettel's announcement that he would be parting ways with The Red Team™ at the end of this year, there was much speculation as to who would replace him at the storied Italian team, and how that would start changing the rest of the grid.
Luckily, we did not have to wait long for an answer to these questions. This morning, Ferrari announced that none other than the smooth operator himself, Carlos Sainz, Jr., will be joining the prancing horses for the 2021 season.
This rules. Sainz has proven himself to be a good goddamn driver, having propelled McLaren to 4th in the Constructors' Championship and himself to 6th in the Drivers' Championship last year. He also seems like a really solid dude, goofy and personable when he's able to be, but seriously dedicated to his calling of going very fast.
But what's that? SIKE, this is actually DOUBLE news because Sainz' announcement that he will be leaving McLaren has also led Daniel Ricciardo to announce that he is jumping ship once again! This time from Renault, where he landed after leaving his seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2018, to fill the (very briefly) vacant seat at McLaren.
Exciting moves all, and I for one cannot wait to see how Sainz performs in a real championship-contending car, and how his new partnership with Charles Leclerc shapes up. The next chapter in Daniel Ricciardo's saga of "I Really Want To Be A World Champion But Oops I Left the One Team That Could Have Gotten Me There So Now I'll Go Here I Guess," should be no doubt interesting as well. Especially with McLaren now positioned as a once more rising star on the grid.
No word yet on any decision from Sebastian Vettel. I personally wouldn't be too surprised if this turned out to be his exit from the sport, but this is a weird year. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with a Hamilton/Vettel pairing over at Mercedes. I'm not sure I see Seb settling for less. And is there room on the grid for another Kimi?
Personally, I'm just glad to have some F1 news to talk about besides race postponements. I didn't realize how much I'd been craving the excitement. Sports are good, actually.
Happy racing! 🏎