Sainz praises fellow driver: 'Great admiration and respect for his speed'

A new Formula 1 season usually means a few new faces in the sport. This year is no exception. Often you can see quite early in the season which of the rookies has that little bit extra and will have a nice, long F1 future. Carlos Sainz, new to Ferrari this year after previous seasons with Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren, however, sees an experienced driver as the biggest surprise of the season so far.

Nice words

Often Lewis Hamilton's championships were dismissed as the luck of someone who was in the fastest car in the field and experienced little to no real competition. This year is completely different and Mercedes does have something to fear from Red Bull Racing, and the racer in Lewis Hamilton comes out on top.

Carlos Sainz has also noticed this. At an event organised by his sponsor Estrella Galicia 0.0 he says: "I don't analyse that much, but if anyone is doing well at the moment it's Hamilton in the Mercedes. The quality to be so fast in the race is amazing, for that he has my admiration and respect."

Surprise

The Spaniard was particularly surprised with the ease with which Hamilton passed Verstappen, for example: "The truth is that I was surprised how easily he passed Verstappen and Bottas. In F1, to overtake like he did, you have to be much faster or do something special. So I think he is at a very, very high level with the Mercedes, which is not faster than the Red Bull at the moment."