Sainz expects to do battle with Red Bull: 'It must be that'

Carlos Sainz saw Red Bull Racing win both championships last calendar year, but according to the Spaniard, this says nothing about the difference in quality compared to Ferrari. Indeed, he is convinced that his team in 2023 is capable of fighting for the world title until the last day of the season.

The driver is positive about the car with which Ferrari will enter the new racing year. "I feel we have chances. I mean, Red Bull has been dominant, but they’ve been dominant without being clearly ahead in pace," Sainz said in an interview with Formula1.com.

Whereas Ferrari was off to a good start with Charles Leclerc at the beginning of the season, Sainz failed to stay close to his teammate. After a few months, the Monegasque also had to drop out and second place in both championships was only realistic.

"I don’t feel like we are so far behind in terms of car development and car performance. If you think about it, I was on pole in Austin; we were one-two in quali. It must be that our car is actually not that far from the Red Bull."

Challenging year for Ferrari

The question, however, is how quickly Ferrari will manage to get all its noses in the same direction. With Frederic Vasseur as the new team boss, the formation will have to get used to new leadership. That is why Sainz revealed in an earlier interview that he expects Vasseur to take time.