As Ferrari locks its doors for the next two years at least, Mick Schumacher says it's "obvious" that Carlos Sainz would get a new contract until 2024.
"For me it doesn't change much," the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, who is already Ferrari's reserve whilst racing for Haas, said at Imola when the news broke.
"For Ferrari, extending with Carlos was obvious. He had a strong season in 2021, he and Charles (Leclerc) work well together.
"My job is to perform well in the Haas," the 23-year-old German insisted.
In the days before the announcement, some in Formula 1 speculated that Spaniard Sainz was in fact arguing with the great Maranello team about the length of his next deal.
"You can imagine how much I laughed when I read all those rumours," the 27-year-old said.
"By that time everything was already signed and we were just waiting for the weekend in Imola to announce it.
"It was pretty easy for both sides to come to an agreement on everything in the winter, so we just made the perfect plan to announce the extension in a place like Imola in front of all the Ferrari fans," Sainz added.
He shrugged off suggestions that the new deal actually comes amid his lowest point in his young Ferrari career, putting the events of Melbourne down to a one-off.
"In these two weeks we have understood the problems," Sainz told Sky Italia.
Finally, while Red Bull admits to taking a "risk" with car upgrades to catch up with Ferrari this weekend, Sainz admitted there is "nothing new" on his red car at Imola.
"We continue with the philosophy of a car that is already good and balanced. The more we drive, the more we learn," he said.
