McLaren are in “no rush” to re-sign their drivers for 2021 even if they do want “clarity” sooner rather than later.
Last year, the British team took on an all-new line-up with Sainz replacing Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris being promoted to Stoffel Vandoorne’s seat.
It was a change that delivered massively as McLaren went on to finish fourth in the Constructors’ standings with the relationship both drivers developed proving a key part of that.
“It has been good, it has made it a lot more fun especially in my first year in Formula 1,” Norris commented at the launch of the MCL35 this week.
“I have been able to settle into things a lot quicker than I thought I would and a lot of that is down to Carlos and how we have got along and how we have helped each other.
“It has been a lot of fun and I hope it continues that way.”
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As for Sainz, his move from Renault and exit from the Red Bull stable appeared to unlock his potential as he went on to claim sixth in the Drivers’ standings.
“It’s not a secret that I’m very happy here in McLaren,” he stated.
“There’s obviously been some things going on in the background. We’ve started to talk already [about a new deal] but at the same time, we are going to take it easy because we are in February so there’s no rush at all.
“But yes, I’m not going to hide that I’m very, very happy in McLaren, I have a lot of faith in this project and the way it’s panning out.”
Those comments will certainly be music to the ears of F1 team boss Andreas Seidl, who was equally calm about the future.
“First of all we would always like clarity as soon as possible, especially on this topic,” said the German.
“There’s no rush to make any decisions or announcements, we’re just going into 2020, we are very happy with Carlos and Lando with what they’ve done last year, it’s important for us as a team to make the next step.
“I’m sure they can also make the next step from the learnings last year, so I don’t think there’s any need to change anything moving ahead.”