Sainz has held extension talks with McLaren

Carlos Sainz admits that he has held preliminary talks with McLaren over extending his current deal with the team, but is in no rush to put pen to paper as the new season hasn’t even started yet.

The Spaniard joined the team from McLaren ahead of the 2019 season, and flourished in his new surroundings alongside rookie driver Lando Norris, with the pair combining to give the team a fourth-placed finish in the constructors’ championship.

McLaren, keen to establish stability, were the first team to announce their driving line-up for 2020 which consists of Sainz and Norris partnering again.

Looking even further into the future, Sainz says discussions have happened about extending his stay, but he remains “happy” with how things are at the moment.

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"Obviously it's not a secret that I'm very happy here in McLaren, and there's obviously been some things going on in the background," he told Autosport.

"We started to talk already, but at the same time we're going to take it easy because we are in February. So there's no rush at all.

"I'm not going to hide that I'm very, very happy in McLaren, and that I have a lot of faith in this project and the way it's panning out at the beginning."

Team principal Andreas Seidl is in agreement with his driver, saying such discussions are not necessary as F1 embarks on a brand new season.

"We all like always clarity as soon as possible. But especially on this topic, I think there's no rush for us at the moment to make any decisions or announcements," the McLaren boss explained.

"We're just going into the 2020 season now [and] we're very happy with Lando and Carlos, with what they have done last year. So it's important now for us as a team to make the next step.

"I'm sure they can also make the next step with all the learnings from last year, and then I think there's no reason for us to change anything looking ahead."

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