Formula 1: Ferrari has signed Carlos Sainz as Sebastian Vettel's replacement

Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team has signed Carlos Sainz for the 2021 Formula 1 season as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel. The Spaniard signed a two-year deal with the Italian motor racing team.

Meanwhile, McLaren announced that they have signed Daniel Ricciardo for 2021. His signing is stated as a "multi-year" deal.

McLaren has been chasing Ricciardo for some time. Now that the Australian racer has finally agreed to join them, it is indeed great news for the British racing team. McLaren couldn't have asked for a better replacement for Sainz.

Previously, Sainz was holding negotiations with his team to stay beyond 2020, when his contract expires. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard has now been given the opportunity to move to a top racing team.

Recently, the negotiations between Ferrari and Vettel over a new contract fell through. This led to the triggering of a domino effect in the driver's market.

On Tuesday, Ferrari announced that the German four-time world champion would leave the team when the season ends. However, the current season is inactive, courtesy of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Sainz will join Charles Leclerc in a youthful Ferrari line-up in 2021 after spending two impressive years at McLaren. In 2019, he finished sixth in the championship.

Now that Ferrari has signed the Spaniard, it puts an end to the speculations that Lewis Hamilton might join the Italian racing team.

Sky Sports reports that the six-time world champion will sign a new contract with Mercedes after consistently proving his loyalty to the world champions.

Sainz expressed his happiness after finalising the deal with Ferrari, and revealed that he is excited to be a part of the team.

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said, "We've embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1. We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past 50 years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves."

Previously, Sainz drove for Toro Rosso and Renault before joining McLaren last year. Now that he has joined a top-class team, he must be looking forward to proving himself as a top-line driver.