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Carlos Sainz has had a less than ideal start to the 2022 F1 season. In the first two races of the season, in Bahrain and Jeddah, the Ferrari driver crossed the checkered flag in P2 and P3. While he would have rejoiced the podium finishes, one of which was his highest ever race finish, in any other race season, Sainz appeared to be disappointed in the post-race interviews.
This might be because for the first time in his career, the Spaniard has a car capable of fighting at the front and challenging for the title. This year, he is in a position where not only are regular podium finishes expected of him, but also regular wins. The pressure that comes along with having the best car on the grid and having outperformed his teammate Charles Leclerc last year is extreme and it has clearly gotten to him.
The 27-year-old is making uncharacteristic mistakes on race weekends, something he never did earlier in his career. As a result, after just five races into the season, he finds himself 51 points behind his teammate in the Driver Standings.
In some ways, it appears that Carlos Sainz's trajectory at Ferrari against Leclerc is similar to that of Nico Rosberg's at Mercedes against Lewis Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz performed at a similar level as Leclerc last season
In his first season with Ferrari last year, Carlos Sainz was surprisingly competitive against Charles Leclerc. While many expected the Spaniard to take his time to get used to the new team and the car, he was on the pace immediately and was there or thereabouts against Leclerc.
As the season progressed, Leclerc would pick up the more flashy results like the pole position at Monaco and Baku, or fighting for the win against Hamilton in Silverstone; however, it was Sainz who was the more consistent driver and would pick up more podiums than his Ferrari teammate.
Nico Rosberg, in his first year as a teammate to Lewis Hamilton, had a somewhat similar situation. The German was extremely competitive against Lewis Hamilton and even picked up two wins compared to Lewis' one, and he even had the edge in the later stages of the season.
Entering the 2022 season on a high, the Spanish driver would have expected to carry on with the momentum he gained in 2021 and challenge the championship leader for the title, just like Rosberg would have expected when he partnered the Briton again in 2015. However, the season had something else in store for both of these drivers.
Charles Leclerc has levelled up this season
The Charles Leclerc that is driving the Ferrari this season is different to the one that drove last season. Not only are his incredible speed and breathtaking driving ability present this year, but what's more is that the incessant errors that he used to make last season are no longer present. The 24-year-old has improved both his driving and his consistency, and what we have this season is a driver worthy of winning the championship.
Furthermore, Leclerc's impeccable form only goes to highlight Carlos Sainz's shortcomings. As has been witnessed at almost every race weekend this year, the Spanish driver, it appears, simply does not possess his teammate's raw pace. While the 27-year-old driver could compensate for this with his consistency last year, with the Monegasque not making any mistakes this season, he has not had a chance to play catch up. Instead, Sainz has been the one making more mistakes in 2022.
Rosberg suffered a similar fate when he went up against Hamilton. In the 2015 season, the seven-time world champion had levelled up significantly and while Rosberg had been able to stay in the fight in the 2014 season, he was nowhere in the 2015 season. The Briton always seemed to have the upper hand that year. Due to this, the German driver was relegated to the role of the "No. 2 Driver" in the team, just like Sainz might be shortly in Ferrari.
What's next for Carlos Sainz?
What Carlos Sainz needs to do is get back to what he was doing last season. Was he the faster Ferrari driver last season? No, not really. But he was the more consistent one. With the car that he has at his disposal, the Spaniard can be a consistent podium finisher at each race.
If he continues to do that, he can capitalize on the races where Leclerc has a bad day or is involved in an unfortunate accident. This was the exact strategy employed by Nico Rosberg when he beat Lewis Hamilton in 2016. The German capitalized on Hamilton's misfortunes at some races, beat him in others and for the rest, he made sure that he finished right behind him.
Carlos Sainz needs to do the same. By the looks of it, he cannot beat Leclerc in a straight fight, so the other option is to make Leclerc's shortcomings his strength. Since Rosberg was able to beat Hamilton by employing this strategy, perhaps, Sainz, too, might be able to achieve success with it.
