Sainz praises former teammate Norris: 'He has that potential'

With Sainz' switch from McLaren to Ferrari, the entertaining duo he formed with Lando Norris has come to an end. The two still get along very well, which was shown on the podium in Monaco. Sainz had some words of praise for his old mate after the race.

"There is a group of drivers who have reached a very similar level of performance, Lando is one of them," the Spaniard is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "Those are potential world champions and they simply need the right car to win. I include myself in that as well."

Norris the right man for McLaren

In Formula 1, it is, unfortunately, the case that the car determines a large part of a driver's success, but that doesn't mean that a driver has no influence on it at all. Certainly not a driver like Norris. Sainz thinks that Norris can lead the McLaren team to the top.

That is clearly the plan of McLaren, which has extended the contract of the young Briton until the end of 2023. If he wants to become world champion in those years, however, he will have to compete against a very competitive field. "It's just an incredible level," Sainz says of the drivers currently on the grid.