Carlos Sainz says he will sit down with Ferrari executives over the winter to negotiate a potential new deal beyond 2024.
The on-form Spanish driver's famous father and namesake recently confirmed speculation that Audi, entering F1 with Sauber for 2026, may be interested in Sainz.
It seems like the perfect time for the 29-year-old to enter talks, as he has looked even stronger than teammate Charles Leclerc recently with pole positions and victory in Singapore.
"If you are in a good moment in your sporting career it is always easier to negotiate," Sainz told the Spanish press at a sponsor event in Madrid this week.
"But I don't think that the last few races have changed the perspective that Ferrari has of me and that I have of Ferrari," he insisted. "We both know the ability and potential that we have and my intentions in the winter are going to be the same as if I hadn't won in Singapore."
Sainz says he is aligned with team boss Frederic Vasseur about delaying any contract talks until the winter period.
"The future will be decided or I will try to get it decided in the winter," he said. "You already know what my priority is in the short, medium and long term. And I hope we can know it in the winter."
He says the talks haven't begun yet.
"We haven't sat down," said Sainz, "but it's not a question of me not wanting to renew. It's just that there is no time within the season.
"We don't want to be distracted by a contract when we have four months in the winter to sit calmly and talk about it. It's a question of time."
Meanwhile, Sainz hit back at Lewis Hamilton's repeated recent complaints that Max Verstappen and Red Bull's utter dominance of F1 is bad for the sport.
"I don't understand it," he said. "If you've had your turn, I don't understand that you complain later because it's someone else's turn.
"If someone like me who hasn't had it yet says it, maybe they can complain a little," Sainz laughed.
