Marko says Sainz rumor 'doesn't make any sense'

Red Bull's Helmut Marko believes the rumor that Carlos Sainz's future with Ferrari is in jeopardy just doesn't make any sense.

Last week, Spanish media outlet El Nacional reported that Ferrari is growing impatient with Sainz due to the Spaniard's disappointing results.

It also claimed that the Scuderia is "tired of Sainz's excuses" while alleging that Charles Leclerc is angry with his teammate for his lack of collaboration in qualifying in Australia.

• Read also: Barcelona media outlet writes up damning report on Sainz

Queried on El Nacional's baseless allegations, Marko - who brought Sainz into F1 in 2015 with Toro Rosso - believes the rumors peddled by the Spanish media are simply absurd.

"Today, anyone can more or less post something on the internet. Reports can no longer be controlled," the Red Bull motorsport boss told SPORT1.

"Why should Ferrari part with Carlos? That doesn’t make any sense. Carlos is doing a good job. Ferrari has other problems than thinking about Sainz."

According to SPORT1, Leclerc – rather than Sainz – is perhaps more likely to depart the House of Maranello earlier than expected.

The Monegasque is contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2024, but the five-time Grand Prix winner is also rumored to be Mercedes' number one pick to relace Lewis Hamilton should the Briton opt to call it a day at the end of the season.

Marko speculates that a performance clause in Leclerc's contract with Ferrari would allow for his early release.

"These performance clauses are common today," said Marko.

"It roughly states that a driver must have a certain number of points at a certain time of the season, usually in late summer, so that the contract is automatically renewed.

"If this is not the case, both parties have the opportunity to dissolve the contract. For this reason, our Sebastian Vettel was able to switch to Ferrari so easily in 2015."

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