Formula 1: Carlos Sainz Jr. signs multi-year contract with McLaren

Carlos Sainz Jr. has signed a multi-year contract to begin driving for the McLaren as Fernando Alonso’s replacement in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

It was revealed yesterday that Carlos Sainz Jr. would likely replace two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren starting in the 2019 Formula 1 season just one day after Alonso announced that he is set to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season.

Now it has been confirmed that the 23-year-old Spaniard has signed a multi-year contract to drive for the Woking-based team as the replacement for the 37-year-old Spaniard beginning next season.

Sainz Jr. is currently in his first full season driving for Renault Sport after he was loaned to the team by Red Bull Racing as the replacement for Jolyon Palmer starting with the final four races of the 2017 season. He sits in 11th place in the driver standings with 12 of the 21 races on the 2018 schedule having been completed. His best finish of the season so far is his fifth place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

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Sainz Jr. previously drove full-time for Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull Racing junior team, and he had done so ever since the start of his Formula 1 career in the 2015 season. He recorded his career-high finish of fourth place in the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix in one of his last races driving for the team.

But with Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo having surprisingly signed a two-year contract to begin driving for Renault next season alongside Nico Hulkenberg, Sainz Jr. was left searching for a ride for next season.

Because Sainz Jr. was still technically a Red Bull Racing driver since he was only loaned to Renault, it was thought that he would have a chance to replace Ricciardo, effectively completing a driver swap between Red Bull Racing and Renault. However, that will not happen.

But while this will not happen, Sainz Jr.’s search for a ride has officially ended now that he has signed a multi-year contract with McLaren as Alonso’s replacement.

Here is what Sainz Jr. had to say about signing a multi-year contract to drive for McLaren beginning next season, according to Sky Sports.

"“I’m delighted to finally be able to confirm that I’ll be a McLaren driver from the 2019 season. It’s something I’ve been looking at for a while and I’m very excited about this next chapter in my career.“I’ve been a McLaren fan for as long as I can remember. It’s a great name in the sport with an incredible heritage, and the list of drivers that have raced for McLaren over the years are among the heroes of Formula 1.“Fernando is of course one of them, so it’s particularly special that I’ll be taking his seat as part of the next generation of Spanish racing drivers behind the wheel of a McLaren.”"

Here is what McLaren CEO Zak Brown had to say about Sainz Jr. signing a multi-year contract to drive for the team starting in the 2019 season, according to Sky Sports.

"“We’re incredibly excited to have Carlos join us as a McLaren driver. We’ve been assessing him for some time now and rate him very highly among the next generation of young talent emerging through the ranks in Formula 1.“Carlos brings with him the perfect blend of youth and experience. Although he’s just 23, he’ll be starting his fifth season in the sport with us and will bring with him a huge amount of racing experience, both in Formula 1 and with our partner Renault.”"

With Red Bull Racing set to switch from Renault engines to Honda engines and end their 12-year partnership with Renault after the 2018 season comes to an end, Renault and McLaren are set to be the only two Renault-powered teams in Formula 1.

With Renault not having any seats open for Sainz Jr. for next season, McLaren became one of his most likely landing spots, and sure enough, they are the team for which he is set to drive starting next season.

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With Carlos Sainz Jr. now officially under contract with McLaren, who will the team sign to be his teammate in the 2019 Formula 1 season? Will Stoffel Vandoorne return to drive for the team for the third consecutive season, or will the team sign another driver to complete what would be a completely different driver lineup for next year?

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