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Spanish F1 journalist Antonio Lobato recently talked about how Carlos Sainz is fairing against his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. He feels that the Spanish driver is putting up a strong fight against the Italian team's wonder kid.
The start of the 2024 F1 season has been great for Carlos Sainz, despite him suffering from appendicitis and not having a secured seat in F1. The Spaniard bagged a pole position in Bahrain, after which he was diagnosed with appendicitis during Saudi Arabian GP.
However, he made an extremely strong return to the grid in Australia, winning the race around Albert Park. He once again bagged a podium finish at the Japanese GP.
On the other hand, Charles Leclerc has had a mediocre season so far in 2024. He only bagged two podiums, in Saudi Arabia and Australia, but did not win a race. Even though he is ahead of Sainz in the drivers' standings, the latter has had a better season up until the Japanese GP.
Speaking about both the Ferrari drivers, Antonio Lobato told Soymotor that Carlos Sainz was putting up a great fight against Charles Leclerc. He stated how the Spaniard is more comfortable with the Ferrari SF-24 and is stronger in qualifying.
“Inside Ferrari, Carlos has something more in qualifying. Charles did a great race, we have to admit that. But Carlos is more solid and he is more at ease with the Ferrari at the moment,” Spanish F1 journalist said (via PlanetF1).
Lobato then recalled how Sainz's father, Carlos Sainz Sr., used to teach the F1 driver how to send a message, even if he did not win races. Lobato believes the Ferrari F1 driver is no longer sending small messages, but straight-up facts.
“Since he was a kid, his father always told him that even if he didn’t win, he always had to send little ‘messages’. He is not sending those messages any longer. Now he is sending facts. And that’s the reward for all his work. He deserves it. Lots of teams will want to have him,” he added.
Carlos Sainz addresses Ferrari's chances of challenging Red Bull in the 2024 F1 season
Carlos Sainz recently talked about Ferrari's chances to chase Red Bull and challenge them for race and championship wins. Speaking to the media, he admitted that the Austrian team would have a decent advantage over the field in the first third of the season, after which Ferrari could start closing the gap through development.
“I think they are definitely going to have an advantage in the first third of the season until we bring one or two upgrades that make us fight them more consistently. By that time, maybe it's a bit too late with the advantage that they might have in the championship,” Sainz said (via RacingNews365)
Sainz hoped that his team would receive more opportunities like the one in the Australian GP, which could give Ferrari a chance to compete for race wins.
“In the meantime, we need more Australias! Which I don't see Red Bull, as a team, making these mistakes very often,” he added.
Carlos Sainz is currently fourth with 55 points, while Charles Leclerc is third with 59 points. Both of them are behind Red Bull drivers since Max Verstappen is leading the table with 77 points and Sergio Perez is second with 64 points.
