McLaren Racing has confirmed that Carlos Sainz will race for them from 2019 Formula One season. The 23-year-old Spaniard, who currently drives for Renault Sport F1 (on loan from Red Bull), has signed a multi-year deal with the Woking-based outfit.
Carlos Sainz will replace two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who has decided not to race for McLaren in the 2019 season. With the new contract, Sainz will enter his fifth season of Formula 1 when he joins the team as a McLaren driver in 2019. In the ongoing season, Sainz now sits 11th in the drivers' championship standings with 30 points.
In his early racing career, Carlos won the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship and finished as runner-up in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, both in 2011. He made his debut in Formula 1 at the start of the 2015 season as reigning Formula Renault 3.5 series champion, with seven poles and seven wins.
Renault's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz poses for a portrait photoSAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
"I'm delighted to finally be able to confirm that I'll be a McLaren driver from the 2019 season. It's something I've been looking at for a while and I'm very excited about this next chapter in my career," Sainz said.
"I've been a McLaren fan for as long as I can remember. It's a great name in the sport with an incredible heritage, and the list of drivers that have raced for McLaren over the years are among the heroes of Formula 1," he added.
"We're incredibly excited to have Carlos join us as a McLaren driver. We've been assessing him for some time now and rate him very highly among the next generation of young talent emerging through the ranks in Formula 1," said Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing.
McLaren is yet to announce whether Stoffel Vandoorne will stay with the team as Sainz's team-mate. The team saying that will be revealed in due course.
