Sainz keeps head up: 'The season has only just started'

Carlos Sainz is not having the season start he had hoped for. The Spaniard does not yet seem to have the speed of his teammate Charles Leclerc. Moreover, the speed of his SF-23 is also not yet where it should be.

Sainz had two disappointing weekends in a row in Formula 1. In Australia, Sainz actually had a very good weekend, until the final restart. Here, the Ferrari driver was penalised for tapping Fernando Alonso into a spin. The five-second time penalty meant Sainz finished outside the points. Last weekend in Baku, the Spaniard was painfully far from the speed of his teammate.

Results not a disaster

Despite Sainz lacking speed compared to Leclerc, the Spaniard does rank higher in the championship. Leclerc had a disastrous start to the season until Baku, with two retirements in three races. According to Sainz, Ferrari's poor results are by no means a disaster.

"It was a difficult start, such a strong Red Bull Racing is relatively unexpected, because a team as superior as Red Bull was not thought of. And at Ferrari, although the results were absolutely not a disaster, we all expected something more," the Ferrari driver told Marca.

Sainz not giving up yet

According to Sainz, Baku shows that a turnaround is possible this season. In Baku, the Scuderia was suddenly much faster, as Leclerc took pole position twice in the Azerbaijani capital. With updates for Miami, things should get even better.

"In Baku, a break in the trend can already be seen with Charles' two pole positions. There are still 18 races ahead and five sprints, so the season has only just started, you have to keep your motivation high, it's still a long time to go."