Carlos Sainz says there should be greater punishments for media that report false information following claims he had signed a contract ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard is out of contract at the end of 2024 and has been weighing up his options for when his time at Ferrari comes to an end. Currently being closely courted by both Williams and Stake – ahead of the latter’s transition into Audi in 2026 – Sainz says he saw reports in the build-up to Montreal that were completely incorrect as they claimed he’d signed a contract and had it verified by a Madrid law firm.
“No, the only thing I can tell you is there is nothing locked in,” Sainz said. “I’ve seen reports in the media, I don’t know if it’s in Spain, or people saying I’ve signed. You look at those things, and it makes me laugh, because I remember seeing reports three months ago that I had signed for Mercedes, reports that I had signed for Red Bull… Obviously those places are not going to happen.
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“So, it’s funny. Now people saying I’ve signed for Williams. But it’s not fair that these people are not banned, and punished in a way, for some media reports. And I’m not talking about you guys, because you guys are within Formula 1 and you know when something’s been signed or not. So, I can just tell you, but that obviously concerns me that people can get away with that kind of stuff without being [punished] or anything like that.”
While he was critical of the reporting ahead of the race in Canada, RACER has verified that Sainz has still yet to sign his next contract, and he sees it as a decision that will have to be made based on a number of unknowns.
“Apart from that, and whenever I have something to say, or something to announce, you guys will be the first ones to know when I’ll be here, openly talking about it,” he said. “And about my future, I’ll put everything into perspective, I will seriously consider everything inside that contract that I signed.
“I’m still a firm believer that in Formula 1 to be successful, you need a medium- to long-term project. I don’t think you’re ever going to be successful in Formula 1 to go for one year somewhere to win, and then leave. I think you need an appropriate project for those things to happen.
“I think 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 offers me a good opportunity to find that. I’ve also said before I think 2026 is going to be a lottery. I think you guys have seen the regs – when I had a look, it looks impossible for me to predict who’s going to be competitive.
“Right now, you guys see, maybe with a bit of a dramatic perspective, (me) not being in a competitive car for 2025 or 2026. But I think 2026 is going to be such a turnaround that maybe the future holds something really positive out there for me.”