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Carlos Sainz has been touted as a potential top-tier driver by F1 analyst Jolyon Palmer. Palmer, a former F1 driver, was all praise for Sainz in his 2021 season review for the F1 website.
He wrote:
"I do think (Carlos) Sainz has stepped up at Ferrari wonderfully, with the culmination being his podium in Abu Dhabi to take him to ‘best of the rest’ in the standings, and become the first driver to outscore Charles Leclerc as a team-mate in any car racing series."
Palmer added:
"When Ferrari signed him early in 2020, it seemed he would be a great second fiddle to Leclerc, but perhaps they might just be re-evaluating that assessment now. I think this year he has shown the potential to be an absolute top-tier driver.”
Sainz started out in F1 with Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri) in 2015. The Spaniard represented Red Bull's sister team for two full seasons before moving to Renault to replace Palmer towards the end of the 2017 campaign.
Sainz moved to McLaren in 2019 and earned his first F1 podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. He has picked up five more podiums since (another with McLaren in 2020 and four with Ferrari in 2021)
Carlos Sainz happy to be at Ferrari after impressive first season
Sainz has revealed that he is happy to be at Ferrari. The Spaniard joined at the start of 2021 to replace four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who moved to Aston Martin.
Here's what Sainz had to say about his first season and possible future with Ferrari in an interview with AS Magazine:
“Considering I have another year left on my contract, I'm in no rush. But it is true that right now I do not see myself anywhere other than Ferrari in the medium to long term."
Sainz went on to add:
“And if you add good results to that, I think I won't be better anywhere than at Ferrari. I am happy to be here.”
When Sainz arrived at Ferrari, the common consensus was that he would be Leclerc's wingman. However, four podiums to Leclerc's one and a P5 finish in the drivers' championship have shown Sainz is no pushover.
