Sainz has struggled more in the opening races of 2022 than team-mate Charles Leclerc, and was not always able to make the most of the fast car the Scuderia built with the arrival of the new rules.
Retirements in Saudi Arabia, the Emilia Romagna GP and Azerbaijan further delayed the Spaniard as they limited his car mileage and prevented him from gaining confidence.
However, at last Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, Sainz was the fastest man on track as he chased winner Max Verstappen to the checkered flag, where he finished less than a second behind.
While Sainz was disappointed to lose to world champion Red Bull and is still seeking his first F1 victory, he said the Montreal weekend was a step forward for him as he feels more comfortable driving F1- 75 to the limit, and claims he “didn’t leave an inch with the walls” trying to find a way past Verstappen.
Asked on Sunday if he now feels able to challenge Verstappen and Leclerc on a regular basis, Carlos Sainz said: “Well, I hope so, but as I said a few weeks ago, I want to go a little bit more race by race, you know, without thinking too much about the championship or anything like that”.
“I really want to focus on getting to a track and see if I can get a good window of performance and comfort inside the car. I think this weekend I did, right from FP1 it seemed very fast, both in qualifying and in pace. career”.
“In the race I was pushing hard without fear of losing the car, as I had done, for example, in Barcelona”.
“Good progress is being made; we’ve changed a few things on the car to try to make it a bit more to my liking, and it seems to be working.”
“But at the same time, I think I need to go to more circuits, I need more different types of corners to get a more complete idea of that.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto believes Sainz has shown he can now be a frequent candidate to win races, saying it was important for Sainz to show the team can count on him as they battle Red Bull for the constructors’ championship. .
“It was a very good race and I think race by race he is gaining confidence, improving his driving and getting faster and faster and he is happy, he is more relaxed,” added Binotto.
“I am quite sure that he will show in the next races that he is also a candidate for victory in every race. I am very happy with the way he drove and it is important for us as the Scuderia that we can also count on him, knowing that he can be very fast.”
Binotto highlighted qualifying as an area where Sainz can improve, as he finished behind Verstappen on Saturday, but also Fernando Alonso’s Alpine on the second row.
Not counting Montreal, where Leclerc had a grid penalty and did not take to the track in Q2, Sainz has been beaten by his teammate in every qualifying session so far this year.
“To win in such a close fight with Red Bull and Max, you have to be perfect throughout the weekend,” Binotto continued. “And maybe the qualifying wasn’t perfect on Carlos’ part. That cost him a little bit, maybe because being chased or being chased are different issues.”
