“We Have No Choice”: Carlos Sainz Becomes a Hypocrite as External Threat Becomes Real

Carlos Sainz, in the last few minutes of the qualifying at the Marina Bay Circuit, took an astounding pole position. His glorious weekend had just started. With a masterclass of tactical brilliance, he kept the two Mercedes on fresher tires behind him for the remaining 10 laps. A nail-biting Singapore Grand Prix came to an exhilarating end as the Spaniard emerged as a victorious ‘Smooth Operator’.

“I’ve been good with the car this year,” he said, sitting down with Will Buxton after the Grand Prix. Although he made mega claims regarding his performance, his confidence seemed to be dwindling during an event by the team’s sponsor, Estrella Galicia. With the gap to Red Bull not closing, Sainz feels the team needs to do more.

The big talks of Carlos Sainz end as Ferrari’s future looks uncertain

Securing the fourth pole of his career in Monza by one-hundredths, Sainz took the title of the most laps led by a ‘non-Red Bull driver’ in the 2023 season. He finished a proud P3, outshining his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in front of the Ferrari home crowd. Securing back-to-back poles in Monza and then Marina Bay, he appeared to be strong, giving hope to the Tifosi. Yet, according to Formula Passion, he claimed that getting at Red Bull’s level is not an easy task.

Sainz explained how getting on the Red Bull track would put the team at a two-year disadvantage. In a sport where mere hundredths of a second are decisive, two years are imponderable. Despite seeing a strong performance from him, he explains, “Red Bull is two years ahead and has half a second of advantage. We have no choice but to focus on ourselves, it will be time to tell if and when we can catch up with Red Bull.” The ‘Prancing Horse’ has picked up speed in developments and upgrades post-summer break. Yet the gap to Red Bull remains. Ferrari‘s Team boss, Fred Vasseur commented that the 2024 chassis will differ from the SF-23, taking over slight attributes of the latter.

Carlos Sainz reiterated his optimism in his team, telling the press, “If McLaren has managed to make such an important step I’m sure that even a team like Ferrari may be able to do it.” The Woking-based outfit has overtaken Ferrari in terms of the gap to Red-bull.

Read More: “He Has All It Takes to Become World Champion”: Carlos Sainz New Ferrari Favorite as Error Prone Charles Leclerc Continues to Falter

McLaren started the 2023 season with a P17, a DNF, and a bleak future ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But now they find themselves 49 points behind Aston Martin who is slowly slipping down the ranks. They have snuck up on the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and the ‘Intensity Driven’ outfit, Aston Martin, to be the strongest rivals to the Red Bulls.

McLaren mastered the concept of Red Bull lookalike

For McLaren, the shift in momentum can be traced back to Silverstone. They entered the weekend with a new under-floor, side pods, and a slightly different front wing. The updates were significant as Lando Norris finished P2 with his first podium of the season. McLaren got the technical elements right.

The key differentiator in the technical elements is aerodynamics. Red Bull, under the direction of Adrian Newey, seems to have mastered it with unmatched aero-efficiency. On the contrary, Mercedes is still bearing the consequences of the regulation changes by FIA in 2022. Ferrari, due to lack of a technical direction, has little to show for improvement. Aston Martin has gone in the backward direction. The only team to have made significant advances is McLaren. With striking similarities in the side pods and front wings, the British outfit is threatening Red Bull with its own lookalike.

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Carlos Sainz is an embellished driver, especially with his recent improvement in performance. The driver, who was hopeful during the earlier races of the season despite poor results and car failures, looks less confident than ever before. Regardless of the obvious setbacks, and the 2024 chassis in the works, the Maranello Outfit is hoping for a turnaround.