Carlos Sainz claims any ‘small upgrade’ could lead to a potential victory in fight with Red Bull

Carlos Sainz reckoned that even the smallest of performance gains could make the difference for a race win in the close battle against Red Bull.

Carlos Sainz claims any ‘small upgrade’ could lead to a potential victory in fight with Red Bull

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are no longer the dominant force in Formula 1. Ferrari and McLaren have managed to substantially bridge the gap to the Milton Keynes-based team this season. So much so, that Carlos Sainz believes that even a minor upgrade could make the difference in terms of winning a Grand Prix this season.

Sainz highlighted that Imola and Miami were the last two races with ‘normal tracks.’ The Spaniard claimed that during both weekends, Ferrari was only around half a tenth behind McLaren. Moreover, Carlos Sainz reckoned that the Italian team was perhaps one or two tenths behind Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

Our last reference of a normal track is Imola and Miami. And if I see those two tracks, we seem to be half a tenth behind McLaren and maybe a tenth or two behind Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz said, as reported by RacingNews365
YouTube video

Subsequently, Carlos Sainz insisted that even small progress in car development such as a small upgrade package could be the decisive factor for a weekend. The Ferrari driver claimed that these small gains could lead Maranello to a potential victory in certain races.

FS Video
It still means that that any small progress, any small upgrade, any small thing that we bring to the car might switch it to a potential race victory or a winning car.
Carlos Sainz explained

Carlos Sainz claims Red Bull ‘still the favorites’

Ferrari and McLaren have both won a race each in the last three rounds. Max Verstappen, perhaps for the first time in the ground-effect era has struggled to outperform his rivals on pure pace. This could be credited to the inevitable convergence in car development in the third year of the regulations. Nevertheless, Carlos Sainz reckoned that Milton Keynes still had the upper hand in this battle.

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz (Via IMAGO)

Sainz claimed that as per his ‘common sense,’ it was likely that Red Bull would still be the favorites on more traditional circuits. The Spanish driver hoped that Max Verstappen would no longer dominate any weekend. Moreover, Carlos Sainz hinted that fans could witness a three-way title fight between Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren.

I think my common sense tells me that on normal tracks Red Bull should still be favorites. Domination, like we were seeing, hopefully not. But favorites, yes. And then it will be a very tight fight with both McLaren and us.
Carlos Sainz asserted

Certainly, Red Bull no longer enjoys a massive pace advantage against the competition. Milton Keynes will be bringing upgrades in the coming races to re-establish its place at the front of the grid. However, fans could expect to see more races where Max Verstappen struggles to clinch victory over the course of this year.

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