Carlos Sainz admits he “wasn’t ready” to fight for F1 title in 2022

When Carlos Sainz moved to Ferrari in 2021, there would’ve been very few people that expected him to outscore Charles Leclerc. That’s not really an assessment of his ability. But everything’s bigger at Ferrari. He was in a new environment, with an unfamiliar car. Yet, he was able to beat who most consider one of the best drivers on the grid. Sure, there was a bit of luck attached, but take nothing away from him – he was brilliant. But then came the fall.

In 2022, the Spaniard struggled to adapt to the oversteering F1-75 for some time. Leclerc seemed to have the measure of him, and rather comfortably. Though he got 2 pole positions and earned his first win, there was definitely room for more. Many had expected him to compete for the title. Far from it, he only finished fifth, even behind George Russell. This time, it was a combination of bad luck and bad reliability that doomed him. But he himself was not perfect either.

This time around, Sainz must obviously do better. He would not want to be relegated to a second driver role. But last season, the Spaniard thinks he was ‘not ready’ to fight for the championship. At the launch of the new Ferrari SF-23, he said: “Being honest, probably with last year’s car, I wasn’t ready. If the championship would have been driven maybe with the 2021 car, I would have been ready.” per Autosport.

He added: “I proved to be for my first year [2021] with Ferrari. But with last year I found myself in that position. It happens. It’s a long career of an F1 driver. There’s always going to be cars that are made for you and you jump in and, without even pushing, you perform an exceptional lap time. There’s other cars that you push, you try, and it feels like you lack that little bit that maybe I was lacking last year.”

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Carlos Sainz learned a lot ‘fighting at the front’ in 2022

Of course, the fact that the car didn’t suit him (at least initially) played a part in his rather disappointing performances. Carlos Sainz knows that, as he discussed how he had to abandon his ‘consistent’ driving style. But there’s another factor: This was his first year in a car capable of winning races. Before that, he’d always been in the midfield. At the top, the stakes, how people fight, are higher. There’s a lot more to lose, and you also drive differently when you’re chasing or defending a race win.

The Spaniard said: “It is true that I also learned a lot last year fighting at the front. It Is different to fighting at the midfield. The level of pushing is different, the level of management, how to win a race, how to make a pole position, are things that I hadn’t been doing for nine years, eight years since my World Series days. It’s probably an experience that will do me well for this year, I think.”

Sainz was not perfect in 2022, but again, Ferrari weren’t either. He retired 6 times last season, 2 of them being mechanical failures. The other 2 were when he was taken out on the first lap. The retirements in Australia and Japan lean towards being his own fault, but he doesn’t take complete blame for any of them. In 2023, the goal is to fight for the championship, and the team and driver must both be flawless.

In case you missed it:

• Carlos Sainz assured that Frederic Vasseur will “respect” his talent and not turn him into a ‘No. 2’ driver
• “I adapted to make it happen,” Carlos Sainz denies any development by Ferrari to aid his driving style

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