Vasseur sees weight lifted from Sainz: 'Could've been distracting'

Sainz hasn't had a smooth season. Before a wheel was even turned, he was kicked out of Ferrari because the Italian team extended Charles Leclerc's contract and signed Lewis Hamilton for 2025. He then had to miss the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix after getting appendicitis and requiring surgery. During the whole season, Sainz has then had to decide his future. 

Contract talk for Sainz rumbled on for many months. Audi (Sauber), Alpine, Mercedes, and even Red Bull Racing were linked with Sainz at different points during the season. Eventually, Sainz opted to join Williams after James Vowles publicly made it clear the Spanish driver was his number one target.

How will Sainz's deal help Ferrari in 2024?

Despite all of that, Sainz has still managed to secure five podiums and a race victory in the 2024 season. And even after starting one race less than his teammate, Sainz is just 15 points behind Leclerc in the World Championship standings. Still, Ferrari have stepped backwards slightly in recent weeks after Mercedes leapfrogged them with updates. Ferrari team boss sees a distraction removed from his driver's attention.

"The last couple of weeks, he had more questions from the [media] than before, and somehow it's a kind of distraction. He's very professional, very consistent, and it was part of my motivation at the beginning to do the announcement quite early and to have him fully focused," Vasseur said ahead of the announcement when speaking to GPblog and others in the Belgian GP paddock.

"I knew that at one stage he will have to sign somewhere and this could be a distraction, but it was much better to anticipate it. Honestly, the approach from Carlos is mega-professional, and he has been a professional from day one this season. I can't complain at all about the behaviour of Carlos," Vasseur said.

With the announcement on Monday, that distraction is now over and he can fully focus on Ferrari for the remaining months of the season.