Will Carlos Sainz finally win a Formula 1 race this season?

We’re four races into the season and to many, it’s very clear who the race-winners and frontrunners for the World Championship are, but is Carlos Sainz in that picture?

The Spaniard has had an up-and-down start to his 2022 campaign, crashing out in FP2 in Miami yesterday but most notably beaching his car just one lap in the, most recent, Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The speed shown by the Ferrari that weekend gave everyone belief that Sainz could contend for the race win, but it just wasn’t to be. His struggles in qualifying were shaken off when it came to the Sprint, but when it came to the race, a small collision with Daniel Ricciardo resulted in a very short Grand Prix.

As for the rest of the season, it started off with two podium finishes and then a DNF in Australia. Sainz came storming out the gates, finishing behind only Charles Leclerc in Bahrain. Yet, it seemed as though it was a missed chance for him to claim his first Formula 1 race victory. The following week, Max Verstappen came out on top but to was a Ferrari two-three in Saudi Arabia.

When looking at the race winners this season, it fits the 2022 Championship battle that everyone is predicting. Two wins for Verstappen and two wins for Leclerc have solidified their front-running for this campaign, but I don’t think it’s a bad shout to say that Sainz will find his name on the race winners list at the end of the season.

If you solely look at the current standings, people will probably call you silly to put Carlos Sainz on the contender list for a race win, but his unluckiness has caused him to fall to fifth. Leclerc leads the way, followed by the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but it’s a shock to see George Russell in fourth. The Mercedes driver has been the most consistent driver so far this season, finishing in the top five in all four races. Despite this constant run of form, Mercedes are not contending for race wins at the moment.

Although I’m hopeful that the Spaniard could claim a victory this season, he hasn’t managed it so far in his career, but how close has he got? What are his three best races that haven’t seen him stand atop the podium?

Italian Grand Prix 2020

Only Pierre Gasly could beat Sainz on a warm September day at Monza in the 2020 season and, in my opinion, it’s the closest that he has come to winning a Grand Prix. Only four-hundredths of a second separated the two, in a race that saw penalties and restarts throughout. The then-McLaren driver did nothing wrong in Monza, however, it just wasn’t enough to beat the AlphaTauri and Gasly on the day.

Monaco Grand Prix 2021

Another second place for the Spaniard the following season, but it was not like in Monza. He finished behind Max Verstappen who claimed a simple and easy race victory in the principality, but it’s on this list solely down to the fact that he claimed second place. It was somewhat lucky for the Ferrari driver as Valtteri Bottas claimed the unwanted award of longest Formula 1 pit-stop ever, with his wheel nut stuck in place. The retirement of his teammate Leclerc before the race started, boosted his odds of a podium finish as well.

Bahrain Grand Prix 2022

Finally, the season opener for this year saw Ferrari claim a strong one-two podium finish with Leclerc beating out Sainz. He was somewhat lucky once again to claim the second-place spot on the podium as Verstappen had a fuel pressure issue, which saw him retire on lap 54, but his pace was still on show and he was able to still finish ahead of, the seven-time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton.

Will Carlos Sainz finally win a Formula 1 race this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!