Carlos Sainz intends to 'complicate things' for Max Verstappen in the 2023 F1 season

Carlos Sainz is looking forward to a strong 2023 season as he aims to battle for the top spot with Ferrari. The Spaniard is hoping for a headstart next year with more comfort and believes that the team will be able to build a competitive car similar to this year. He also stated that he will try to complicate things for Max Verstappen, who is currently dominating the sport.

Sainz said:

"My goal for next year is to start at the level I am at now, which is quite decent, and to complicate things for Max. We have another opportunity and I fully trust that the team will create another great car like this year's, and we will learn from the mistakes made this year."

Ferrari had one of their best starts to the season in 2022 after many years. Both drivers were in the fastest machines on the grid and with a 1-2 finish in the season opener, it looked great for them.

Continuous reliability issues, strategic errors, and a few driver mistakes, however, left them way behind Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Although Carlos Sainz clinched his maiden win at the 2022 F1 British GP, he suffered extensively in the races post that.

Sainz also said that Verstappen's championship victory this season comes as a surprise, saying:

"You never expect that, especially when you have a good car at the beginning."

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Carlos Sainz confident about the 2023 season

Carlos Sainz believes it would have been much better for him had he possessed the same confidence he has right now at the start of the season. This becomes evident upon analyzing his overall performance this season.

While he had trouble matching his teammate Charles Leclerc's pace at the start of the season, he has been more or less equal to him in the later stages. The Spaniard thus believes that if he had started the season this way, he would have competed better. Sainz said:

"I now wish I had felt a little more comfortable at the beginning of the season, to make things a little more complicated for Max and together with Charles to fight a little more."

Although the team only had Red Bull to battle for at the start of the season, Mercedes have developed and hopped into the competition now, and their return to competing for the top spot in 2023 looks inevitable. Sainz mentioned this as he said that he trusts Ferrari and will be ready to battle Mercedes too.