This is what needs to change for Sainz to become 2023 F1 World Champion

In the 2022 season, Ferrari had a car to be at the front, but Carlos Sainz could not fight for the world championship for different reasons. Will Sainz be able to win the Formula 1 world championship in 2023? Fred Vasseur might have to change a few things, but this is why it could happen.

Recovering consistency

We know for a fact that Sainz has the quality to win the Formula 1 World Championship. The Spanish driver's most outstanding skill is consistency. His 31 race streak between 2020-2022 is the fifth longest without retirement in the history of Formula 1. Sainz did not retire from the Eiffel GP in 2020 until the Saudi Arabian GP in 2022. This season, on six occasions the Spanish driver retired early. In the Australian, Emilia-Romagna, Azerbaijan, Austria, Japan and United States GPs. Four were due to accidents or crashes and two due to problems with his Ferrari.

To be a Formula 1 champion, from the first race to the last, you have to give 100% or even more in the car. Sainz struggled to adapt to the 2022 car more than usual, and that caused him to fall behind in the fight for the world title from the start.

The team also has to help

Obviously, the Ferrari team also has to help Sainz to win the Formula 1 World Championship. To start with, Ferrari have to build a winning car. The base is already there, because in some races last season, Ferrari had the fastest car on the grid. 

Also, that car has to be reliable. In 2022, we have seen that the reliability of the Ferrari is not entirely good, because up to four times Ferrari drivers had to retire because of reliability problems (Sainz twice and Leclerc twice). Last but not least, in a world like Formula 1, where every millisecond counts, the Ferrari team has to be right with the pit stops. Numerous times Carlos Sainz has lost positions due to problems and slow pit stops by the Italian team.

Possible rivals

To win the Formula 1 championship, you have to be better than your rivals. First we have to look in the same team, Leclerc. We know that Sainz, in his first season at Ferrari, beat Leclerc in the championship, scoring 164.5 points and finishing fifth, while Leclerc was seventh with 159 points. The key to this fight will be how quickly the drivers adapt to the Ferrari car.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are also clear contenders for the world title. Sainz was already the Dutchman's teammate at Toro Rosso in the 2015 season. The key to this fight will be the consistency of the Spanish driver. Verstappen has had retirements in early 2022, in Bahrain and Australia due to problems with his car. He also had problems in Singapore, Great Britain and Brazil. In addition, we know that the two-time world champion has problems on street circuits. If Sainz is consistent and knows how to make the most of his opportunities, he has a chance of becoming Formula 1 world champion.

Finally, we have Mercedes, who in the 2022 season were a step behind for most of the season. Whilst they caught up dramatically in the second half of the season, Ferrari have still had more core developement time. Mercedes were forced to focus on the porpoising problem, rather than pushing further ahead. 

Carlos Sainz can be Formula 1 Champion in 2023

Sainz can win the Formula 1 World Championship in 2023, but for that, Ferrari must of course make a good car, more reliable and not have so many mistakes in the strategies or pit stops. Something that Vasseur will have to work hard to solve. As for the driver from Madrid, Sainz has to find the consistency he had before and adapt to his car. If Sainz follows these keys next season, he could have a good chance of winning the Formula 1 World Championship.

This opinion piece was orginally published on the Spanish edition of GPblog, written by Rubén Gómez