Carlos Sainz admits to pushing more to catch up with others! The Spaniard opened up about his recent form after missing out on a win by mere seconds in the Monaco GP. Notably, the Ferrari driver, despite being extremely close to Sergio Perez, ultimately did not manage an overtake and missed out on his first win.

Arguably, this season is the first time the Spaniard has driven a competitive car. Despite remarkable efforts, Sainz is still a little behind not only teammate Charles Leclerc but also Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. While 2022 has become a three-legged race, Sainz is still struggling to gain pace with the others.

Carlos Sainz admits to being behind the top 3

The 27-year-old was a sensation in his first year with Ferrari. Beating Leclerc in points, many expected the ‘Smooth Operator’ to perform even better this season. However, the driver has now revealed the reason behind this setback, “I just need to be a bit faster. I need one or two tenths, in terms of qualifying and race pace.”

“If I find those one or two tenths, which I found in the second half of last year with the car of the “Last year, the sooner I find them, the sooner victory will come. I’m working hard to find them.” (quotes translated using google)

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Now, the Spaniard has even claimed that the car doesn’t necessarily suit his style. He explained how, though he has a fairly fluid driving style, the chassis ultimately suits Leclerc more. The Monegasque has definitely maintained a larger lead on his teammate, be it qualifying or the race.

Sainz believes he can catch up

The Ferrari driver has not overlooked his inconsistent performances this season nor the fact that he has also been more prone to mistakes. He crashed initially at the Australian GP, and later on, lost places after spinning at the home race. These mistakes and arguable bad luck are the biggest reasons Sainz currently sits behind in the standings.

He further pointed out what he needs to do to catch up, “You can either adapt or bring F1 a bit more to your liking with the settings. Either way, both of these things take time and they require knowledge and experimentation. mistakes…and that’s what I’m doing now.”

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So, what do you think? Is Sainz on the same level as Verstappen, Leclerc, and Perez? Or will he simply not catch up?