Sainz and Leclerc to move to Maranello

Ferrari Chairman John Elkann has revealed that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would move to Maranello next year to create an even better working atmosphere with the Scuderia’s engineers.

Scuderia Ferrari became the major talking point during the coronavirus-induced lockdown period when it announced the departure of its quadruple world champion driver Sebastian Vettel. The German will be replaced by Carlos Sainz who drives currently for McLaren Racing following the first two stints in his career at Toro Rosso and Renault.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, John Elkann has revealed that both Leclerc and Sainz will move to Maranello next year to get closer to Ferrari’s factory. The Monégasque currently lives in his native Monaco while the Spaniard spends his time at Woking, just a few-minute drive away from McLaren’s headquarters.

"In the last decade we have had champions like Alonso and Vettel but it is more difficult to ask for patience from those who have already won than from those who have their futures ahead of them," he said.

"Leclerc and Sainz will have houses in Maranello and will stay as close as possible to our engineers. The new machine will be born with their direct contribution."

The recent signs revolving around Ferrari’s F1 racing operation clearly indicate that Formula One’s most successful team has recognized the depth of its current struggles and want to make significant tweaks to its structure in a bid to get back to the top of the field. The team seems to have accepted that there is no instant remedy for its current woes and issues and it would need a long period of restructuring before it finds the way back to the top.

Ferrari clearly wants to take a fresh approach, securing the services of Leclerc until at least 2024 and ousting Vettel to sign the eight-year younger Sainz. Team Principal Mattia Binotto also announced key changes to the race organisation last week, confirming the introduction of a new technical department, the Performance Development group that will be headed up by Enrico Cardile.

The American-Italian businessman has acknowledged that "there is a long path ahead of us, and we don't want to deceive. "So we will make the most of these last months of 2020 and then 2021 in order to return to being very competitive in 2022. That is the goal,” he concluded.