Sainz: 'You could see right away that Max Verstappen was special'

In 2015, both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz made their debuts at Red Bull Racing's sister team: Toro Rosso, now known as AlphaTauri. Max Verstappen immediately managed to make a name for himself through scoring and a somewhat aggressive approach on the track. In a Corriere Della Sera interview with Sainz, the Spaniard is asked if that was a difficult start for him.

Max is special

Carlos Sainz drives for a top team just like Max Verstappen, but where Verstappen was promoted in his second year, Sainz has taken a detour. The Spaniard drove two seasons for Toro Rosso before switching to Renault in 2017 towards the end of the season. In 2018, he drove a full year for that team to then join McLaren in 2019, where he left at the end of last year to take a seat alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.

So Carlos Sainz has definitely come into his own, but the challenge was plenty from the very first moment. Sainz says: "You could see right away that Max was special, that he had skills that were not everyday. But I was able to keep up with him and that gave me the confidence to continue in Formula 1. I knew I was in the right place. And if I was in the right place, then I knew I could play with anyone."

Hamilton among the best

Sainz will of course be up against Leclerc as his direct competitor this year, with Ferrari mainly moving into the midfield. So taking on the top is not in the cards for the time being. Sainz can't fight Lewis Hamilton which is a shame, despite Sainz being asked for his opinion on Hamilton.

"He has all the qualities a driver would want," Sainz says of Hamilton. "He has no weaknesses, I can see that on the track. But maybe he missed the competition in some seasons. At most he had to beat one, two opponents. But if we put everybody in the same car, Lewis would be among the best. Almost certainly the best."