Can Ferrari beat Red Bull again in Japan? This is what Sainz thinks

Carlos Sainz managed to win the last Grand Prix in Australia. Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, he is not counting on beating Red Bull again. After all, the Austrian racing stable is very fast at this circuit.

Two weeks after his operation on his appendix, Carlos Sainz won his third Grand Prix in Australia. Although Max Verstappen's DNF obviously helped that, the Ferrari was fast throughout the weekend. In Japan, the Scuderia is hoping for another victory.

In 2023, Red Bull Racing won the constructors' title in Japan. This season, the race will be held a lot earlier in the year to make the build-up of the F1 calendar a bit more sustainable in combination with Australia and China.

Can Ferrari beat Red Bull in Japan?

Sainz is aware that it is not going to be easy to beat Red Bull again this weekend. "Also because it's going to be a challenging track for us. I think last year was one of our most challenging ones in reference to a Red Bull. We were, I think, seven or eight tenths off four or five months ago here," the Spaniard told reporters ahead of the race at Suzuka.

"So it's time to see where we are this year and see if we can be at least closer and enjoy a bit more of this amazing track than what we enjoyed last year, because for me it's one of my favourite ones, if not my favourite," the three-time Grand Prix winner added.