Sainz joined Ferrari last season as a replacement for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, signing a two-year deal. He scored four podiums en route to fifth place in the drivers’ championship during his first year with the team. Sainz quickly formed a good relationship with new teammate Charles Leclerc as the duo combined to secure Ferrari third in the constructors’ standings. Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies said in Abu Dhabi he thought Sainz and Leclerc were “as good as it gets” as F1 teammates, while team principal Mattia Binotto revealed he planned to talk to Sainz about his future over the winter. Speaking in his traditional end-of-season media call, Binotto expanded on his plans to talk to Sainz about a new Ferrari contract to secure his services beyond the end of 2022. “As we said I think in the last race, we will discuss through the winter time the extension of his …