Carlos Sainz odds-on favourite to replace Vettel at Ferrari

Carlos Sainz tipped to go to Ferrari for 2021 F1 season

German driver Sebastian Vettel has announced that he will be leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2020 F1 season. He has been with the famous Italian team since 2014 when he replaced Fernando Alonso.

Now bookmakers are asking the question of who will replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2021?

2021 Ferrari DriverF1 Odds*

Carlos Sainz 2/5
Daniel Ricciardo 7/2
Lewis Hamilton 14/1
Valtteri Bottas 14/1
Antonio Giovinazzi 20/1
Fernando Alonso 201/
40/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from Coral at 00:12 GMT on Wednesday, 13th May 2020)

Vettel retiring?

There’s no word on what Vettel is going to be doing at the end of the season. Will he be looking for a new challenge in the sport or is he going to head towards retirement?

His dream at Ferrari was to emulate legend Micahel Schumacher.

But it wasn’t to be.

Vettel won four straight F1 Drivers World Championships in his time with Red Bull. His move to Ferrari was supposed to take him further and get the team back on top of the sport. It never quite panned out.

The last couple of seasons has seen more and more mistakes creeping into the game of Vettel. His temperament has been questioned more and more by pundits and while he has lost none of his speed, the consistency hasn’t been there.

The rise of Charles Leclerc hasn’t helped.

Youngster Leclerc, in just his second full season in the sport, outperformed Vettel in all departments across the 2019 campaign.

So there is something of an air of inevitability about Vettel’s decision to part company with Ferrari.

Who gets the Ferrari drive?

With such a promising star in Leclerc, Ferrari are going to have to be careful about not stepping on his toes. So what do they do in this situation?

Do they go for broke and try to pull in a superstar name, or find someone who will be happy enough to get a drive at a top team, but playing second-fiddle to Leclerc?

The early market leader is Carlos Sainz, who is currently with McLaren. The Spaniard was 6th in the final standings last season after recording a total of 13 top-ten finishes.

The best of those was a podium finish for a third-place at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Sainz is the current 2/5 odds-on favourite to replace Vettel* (betting odds taken from Coral at 00:12 GMT on Wednesday, 13th May 2020).

Another main option at the moment for them would appear to be Daniel Ricciardo who is unsettled at Renault. The Australian is at 7/2 to make the move to Ferrari next season* (betting odds taken from Coral at 00:12 GMT on Wednesday, 13th May 2020).

Antonio Giovinazzi, who is currently with Alfa Romeo is a 20/1 shot* (betting odds taken from Coral at 00:12 GMT on Wednesday, 13th May 2020).

Alternative options for Ferrari

It wasn’t all that long ago that rumours about Lewis Hamilton having meetings with Ferrari were flying around the media.

He is out of contract at the end of the season with Mercedes but has signalled his intent to stay with the team.

But until he’s locked down, rumours will persist and Hamilton is a 14/1 quote with Coral to replace Vettel at Ferrari.

But that would leave Mercedes in a strange place looking for a top-line driver and would probably have to consider Vettel at that point.

That’s all highly unlikely though. As is a move for Fernando Alonso going back to the team.

The Spaniard hasn’t really made any signals that he would be ready to make an F1 return. Certainly not with Ferrari anywhere who he parted with on acrimonious terms.

Another name on the list is Mick Schumacher who is the best price at 50/1 with Coral* (betting odds taken from Coral at 00:12 GMT on Wednesday, 13th May 2020).

Mick is the son of Ferrari legend Micahel Schumacher and he is currently driving in F2.

The 21-year-old though didn’t really set the Formula 2 scene alight last season and a move up to the top tier could be too early for him.