Brundle sees Sainz as prime candidate for Ferrari drive

Ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle believes that McLaren's Carlos Sainz could be courted by Ferrari if Sebastian Vettel departs the House of Maranello at the end of this season.

Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto recently said that contract talks with Vettel were set to begin and would be swiftly finalized.

However, it remains to be seen if those negotiations won't be delayed in light of the current disruption of the 2020 F1 season due to the global conoravirus pandemic.

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But if Ferrari and Vettel do part ways, Brundle believes Sainz - whose contract with McLaren runs out at the end of this year - could figure high on the Italian outfit's shortlist of drivers that could fill the four-time world champion's seat.

"I’ve always championed Carlos, and to McLaren when they weren’t sure about taking him," Brundle told the Daily Express.

"I think he’s got his dad’s kind of sporting winning mentality — a double World Rally Champion of course, his dad."

As he assessed Sainz's talent, Brundle viewed the Spaniard's skills pretty much on a par with those of his former Scuderia Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen, with only internal politics handing an advantage to the latter at the time.

"I think Sainz was very close to Verstappen when they were at Toro Rosso. It got political," said the Sky F1 commentator.

"It got dad and lad against each other from both sides of the garage and they went with Verstappen, which I think you would do all day long.

"But I think Carlos was a really good match for him."

Of course, Brundle's speculation could be put to rest in short order if McLaren and Sainz extend their partnership, especially as the Spaniard has already initiated contract talks with his current team.

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