MARANELLO, Italy – Ferrari has wasted little time in naming the replacement for departing Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel by hiring Carlos Sainz Jr. as the team’s newest driver beginning in 2021.

Sainz, who has agreed to a two-year contract, will depart McLaren to join Scuderia Ferrari. Vettel and Ferrari announced the two sides would be parting ways earlier this week.

“I’m pleased to announce that Carlos will join Scuderia Ferrari,” said Mattia Binotto, Managing Director Gestione Sportiva and Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari. “With five seasons already behind him, Carlos has proved to be very talented and has shown that he has the technical ability and the right attributes to make him an ideal fit with our family.

“We’ve embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula 1. It will be a long journey, not without its difficulties, especially given the current financial and regulatory situation, which is undergoing a sudden change and will require this challenge to be tackled in a different way to the recent past.

“We believe that a driver pairing with the talent and personality of Charles and Carlos, the youngest in the past fifty years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves.”

Sainz has competed in 102 Grands Prix for Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren. Last season he earned his first podium finish with a third-place finish in the Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

“I am very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I’m excited about my future with the team,” said the 25-year-old Spaniard, who finished sixth in the Formula One standings last year. “I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I’m really looking forward to going racing again with them this season.”