Formula One: Carlos Sainz joins Ferrari for 2021 season as Daniel Ricciardo moves to McLaren

Driver merry-go-round underway after Vettel's exit from Italian team

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  ON THE GRID FOR 2020 SEASON: Nicholas Latifi (CAN) - Williams. Car: 6; age: 24; starts: 0. The Canadian rookie is partnered with George Russell after Robert Kubica was dropped just one season into his comeback year. AFP

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  George Russell (GBR) - Williams. Car: 63; age: 22; starts: 21; wins: 0. Surely it cannot get any worse for Williams? Despite being able to boast 16 combined drivers' and team titles, the British team finished rooted to the foot of the championship last year after scoring just one point. Reuters

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  Kevin Magnussen (DEN) - Haas. Car: 20; age: 27; starts: 102; wins: 0. Having previously established themselves as solid midfield runners, the American team will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2019 campaign where they finished ninth. AFP

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  Romain Grosjean (FRA) - Haas. Car: 8; age: 33; starts: 164; wins: 0. Grosjean will be joined once more by Magnussen - their fourth year together as teammates. Reuters

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  Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) - Alfa Romeo. Car: 99; age: 26; starts: 23; wins: 0. Italian Giovinazzi has been retained by Alfa Romeo for a second season. EPA

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  Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) - Alfa Romeo. Car: 7; age: 40; starts: 312; wins: 21; championships: 1 (2007). Former world champion Raikkonen will this year become the most-capped F1 driver. The veteran Finn is just 10 races shy of Rubens Barrichello's record of 322 starts. EPA

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  Lance Stroll (CAN) - Racing Point. Car: 18; age: 21; starts: 62; wins: 0. Canadian Stroll starts his second campaign at Racing Point. EPA

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  Sergio Perez (MEX) - Racing Point. Car: 11; age: 30; starts: 176; wins: 0. Following a rather underwhelming campaign, Racing Point proved to be one of the major talking points at testing after their new car resembled a carbon-copy of last year's title-winning Mercedes. Mexican driver Perez has been with the team since 2014. Reuters

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  Daniil Kvyat (RUS) - Alphatauri. Car: 26; age: 25; starts: 93; wins: 0. The Russian was retained for a second straight year of his yo-yo career. EPA

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  Pierre Gasly (FRA) - Alphatauri. Car: 10; age: 24; starts: 47; wins: 0. A new season and a new name for Red Bull's junior team with Toro Rosso re-branded as AlphaTauri for the forthcoming campaign. Gasly, dropped by Red Bull midway through last season, drives alongside Kvyat. EPA

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  Esteban Ocon (FRA) - Renault. Car: 31; age: 23; starts: 50; wins: 0. Ocon spent last season on the sidelines after losing his seat to Lance Stroll at Racing Point. Reuters

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  Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) - Renault. Car: 3; age: 30; starts: 171; wins: 7. Ricciardo is joined by Ocon as Renault bid to bounce back from a disappointing 2019. EPA

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  Lando Norris (GBR) - McLaren. Car: 4; age: 20; starts : 21; wins: 0. After an impressive rookie campaign, British driver Norris is set for his second season in F1. AFP

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  Carlos Sainz (ESP) - McLaren. Car: 55; age: 25; starts: 102; wins: 0. McLaren emerged from the doldrums last season with their best performance in years as they finished fourth in the constructors' table. Sainz also scored McLaren's first podium since 2012 when he was promoted to third in Brazil. EPA

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  Alexander Albon (THA) - Red Bull. Car: 23; age: 23; starts: 21; wins: 0. London-born Albon is set for just his second season in F1 and his first full campaign as a Red Bull driver after he was promoted from Toro Rosso following last year's summer break. EPA

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  Max Verstappen (NED) - Red Bull. Car: 33; age: 22; starts: 102; wins: 7. Verstappen was one of the stars of last year after he finished third in the championship behind Lewis Hamilton and Bottas. Verstappen, 22, could prove Hamilton's closest challenger if Red Bull can build on a package which fired the Dutchman to three victories last season. Reuters

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  Charles Leclerc (MON) - Ferrari. Car: 16; age: 22; starts: 42; wins: 2. Last year, Leclerc finished ahead of Vettel in the championship, scoring a greater number of pole positions and victories than his four-time world championship-winning teammate. Reuters

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  Sebastian Vettel (GER) - Ferrari. Car: 5; age: 32; starts: 240; wins: 53; championships: 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). Vettel and Leclerc will lock horns for a second season in what is the sport's fiercest team rivalry. Their combustible relationship spilled over in Brazil when they collided, forcing both drivers out of the race. Ferrari have not celebrated a drivers' champion since 2007, and after a mixed pre-season campaign, the Italian team fear they will start this year on the back foot. EPA

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  Valtteri Bottas (FIN) - Mercedes. Car: 77; age: 30; starts: 139; wins: 7. Bottas partners world champion Lewis Hamilton for a fourth straight season. Reuters

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  Lewis Hamilton (GBR) - Mercedes. Car: 44; age: 35; starts: 250; wins: 84; championships: 6 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019). Mercedes have been the dominant team in Formula One since 2014, winning a record six consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships. Hamilton has been the driving force behind their success and the British driver will start the new campaign as the favourite to win his sixth world championship in seven years to equal Michael Schumacher's overall record. Reuters

The Formula One drivers' merry-go-round is underway with Sebastian Vettel set to exit Ferrari at the end of this season.

The Italian team announced on Thursday that Carlos Sainz will replace four-time F1 world champion Vettel for the 2021 season.

McLaren have signed up Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo as a replacement for Sainz.

Ferrari have identified Spaniard as the ideal support for Charles Leclerc, whose form last season has helped seal the fate of an increasingly frustrated Vettel.

Team principal Mattia Binotto said: "We've embarked on a new cycle with the aim of getting back to the top in Formula One.

"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 50 years of the Scuderia, will be the best possible combination to help us reach the goals we have set ourselves."

Sainz said he was "excited about my future" with Ferrari but "looking forward to the season ahead with McLaren".

Ricciardo has signed a "multi-year agreement" and will leave Renault at the end of this campaign, yet to start because of the coronavirus, to race alongside Lando Norris next year.

"Daniel is a proven race-winner and his experience, commitment and energy will be a valuable addition to McLaren and our mission to return to the front of the field," McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl said.

Ricciardo surprisingly left Red Bull, a team with whom he had won seven races in five seasons between 2004 and 2018, to sign a two-year contract with Renault.

However, the Australian's first season was fraught with difficulty and he failed to make a podium. It seems he has now decided McLaren, who will switch to Mercedes engines in 2021, are the better bet for his long-term prospects.

"With Daniel and Lando as teammates, I believe we have two racers who will continue to excite our fans and help the team grow," Seidl said.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said: "Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans."

Renault issued a short statement saying discussions with Ricciardo over a renewal of his contract had not been successful.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo will race for Renault this season before switching to McLaren for 2021. EPA

They gave no indication of who might replace the popular Australian, although their have been reports that double world champion Fernando Alonso could make a comeback with the team that took him to his titles in 2005 and 2006.

The 38-year-old Spaniard last drove for McLaren in Formula One in 2018.

Sainz achieved a career-best third place finish in last season's penultimate race in Brazil and is the front-runner to drive next year for Ferrari, who announced earlier this week that Vettel is to depart the Scuderia at the end of the 2020 season.

Brown said of the Spaniard: "I want to pay tribute to Carlos for the excellent job he has been doing for McLaren in helping our performance recovery plan.

"He is a real team player and we wish him well for his future beyond McLaren."