Sainz on Leclerc as benchmark: "He is one of the strongest drivers on the grid"

Looking ahead to his debut at Scuderia Ferrari, Carlos Sainz has forged friendly links with his future teammate, Monegasque Charles Leclerc. Sainz does this by complimenting the form of his colleague in an interview.

Asked by Crash.net if he is looking forward to his partnership with Ferrari and Leclerc, Sainz says: “I’m looking forward to it, mainly because he’s probably one of the drivers on better form on the grid. You could argue he’s had a super strong season, he knows the team, he knows the car very well and he looks to be honestly on top of his game.”

Sainz continued: “With the combination of youth and experience that he has now, I think I’ll be up against the strongest, or definitely one of the strongest drivers on the grid. It will be a great benchmark for me. It will be great to have him as a benchmark and see how quickly I can get up to speed and keep helping the team to get better.”

The Spaniard also acknowledges that he may have a difficult start at the Scuderia, due to limited testing opportunities and the hectic nature of the revised calendar. Sainz: “I will obviously start with a bit of a disadvantage not knowing the car, having very little winter testing, having one-day-and-a-half to prepare the season. I will have a lot of catch up to do in the first half of the year, in the first races, as I get to know the team and the car.”