With the World Championship decision in favor of Max Verstappen in Japan, it is clear that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will have to wait until next season for another chance to bring the long-awaited drivers’ title back to Maranello.
Things didn’t look too bad at the beginning of the season, at least for Leclerc, because Monegasque led the world championship standings without interruption until the sixth race in Spain.
There was much speculation in the media at the time as to whether Ferrari might demote Sainz early as the number 2 driver to give Leclerc better title prospects, but this did not happen.
In an interview with Spain’s AS, Sainz admits he was very annoyed by the speculation, although he takes the blame on himself as his poor start to the season was fertile ground for critics.
Sainz: You just can’t please the media
“I can [die Diskussionen schon] understand as after the first few races Charles was a step ahead in both qualifying and race pace. But in the middle of the season I improved a lot,” the Spaniard clarifies.
“I started getting into the fight more and in a way it was a little bit frustrating because when I was in the fight it seemed like some people didn’t want me in it. I was criticized for not being in it , and then when I was there, some people wondered what I was doing up front, because I was supposed to let Charles win everything.”
“It was frustrating, especially from the press. They criticize me, but just when I was there and fighting, they didn’t want to see me up front. But they saw that I didn’t pay much attention to what they were doing say outside,” says Sainz.
Sainz: Two equal drivers better for a team!
When asked if it’s just in the nature of Ferrari to have two strong drivers, Sainz says: “I think so, even Mattia [Binotto, Ferrari-Teamchef] and the team recognize that it’s a virtue and one of our strengths.”
“But it’s clear that there were some Ferrari supporters who didn’t have two drivers [auf demselben Niveau] wanted or want to have. Maybe that’s a question for others because I’m convinced it’s best for the team if the two of us are as close together as possible.”
But it is also a fact that Carlos Sainz had some teething problems in his second year at Ferrari and during the first race weekends he made some driving mistakes that were actually atypical for him, such as the spins in the races in Australia and Spain and the crash in qualifying at Imola.
Sainz: I never really got into the rhythm in 2022
When asked if he’s satisfied with his season so far, he says: “On the whole, no. I can’t be happy because it was a season with too many ups and downs,” complained Sainz.
“There are things I’m happy with, like the progress I’ve made. I’ve been able to turn around a pretty complicated start and not stall, and find my way around a car that I still can’t handle driving natural or not in the simplest way.”
“I’m proud of that, but the season got off to a difficult start and even though I got into a rhythm and got good results, every two or three races something happened that didn’t give me a good run,” he explains .
Sainz: I have such problems in 2022 of all days
In addition to the driving mistakes, his season is also characterized by technical failures like in Azerbaijan and Austria, as well as sometimes questionable strategic decisions and botched pit stops by Ferrari, similar to his teammate Leclerc.
“Very,” is Sainz’s response when asked how angry he is that he wasn’t able to get the most out of the season early on, whether through his mistakes or Ferrari’s. “Of course it does. It frustrates me because that’s not a problem I’ve had.”
“I’m a driver who has always adapted very quickly to the cars I’ve driven. I’ve always been very close to or ahead of my team-mates. That’s the year I suffered the most, that As a year that I had a competitive car, in those first races, you can imagine it was very difficult to accept psychologically.”
“And I had to work on that because I couldn’t explain it to myself. If I’ve never had adjustment problems and I’ve always been fast, why is it so difficult for me when I have a fast car that I can fight for wins with? That frustrated me a lot, I was worried and worked hard on it. Nevertheless, I didn’t lose my head and was able to get the problem under control,” says the Spaniard proudly.
Sainz’ big goal: “I want to be world champion one day”
Now 28, Sainz is almost one of the older guard in Formula 1, although drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso show that you can still move a Formula 1 car around the circuit quickly in your late 30s or early 40s.
“I have to be at a point where the peak is very close, although you see drivers like Fernando reinventing themselves year after year,” says Sainz. “I think maturity as such never ends. With every year you spend in Formula 1 you get better, you learn more. Yes, the eight years of experience help, but I will continue to learn new things.”
“My goal is to be world champion one day. I hope that if there’s a good car again next year I can be in the fight from the start. I know that once I’m in the fight I’ll be there , also able to stick with it.”
“That will be the goal. We are working at Ferrari to get the car back and to improve as a team so that we don’t miss the opportunity next year if it arises again,” hopes the Ferrari driver.