Sainz looks back: 'Sometimes it was hard to believe'

Carlos Sainz has had a tough first season. The Spaniard joined Ferrari at the beginning of 2021 and then had to prepare for the new season at lightning speed. During that period he had a lot of help from his teammate Charles Leclerc, he tells Formule1.nl.

The former teammate of Max Verstappen showed he was of a high standard in the past, but at the start of last season, he struggled to show his qualities. Sainz clearly had to get used to his new car, which caused him to lag behind Leclerc. He made up for that during the course of the year though.

Sainz explains in the interview that for a long time he was told to do the same as Leclerc. "Sometimes it was hard to believe it was possible to do that. He was so incredibly fast that it was actually quite shocking," Sainz states. "But little by little I adapted and tried to learn from him. That way I was able to get to a good level."

After the season, Sainz was on 164.5 points, which put him in fifth place behind Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. His teammate finished in seventh position with 5.5 points less.