Just Days After Ferrari Fired Him, Carlos Sainz Seems to Have Already Surrendered to Max Verstappen’s Dominance Ahead of the 2024 Season

Max Verstappen finished the 2023 season with 19 wins in his pocket. Carlos Sainz however, was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in 2023. The Spaniard displayed exceptional racecraft at the Singapore GP and won the race under pressure. Unfortunately, the Spaniard does not have a seat for the 2025 season at the moment, as Lewis Hamilton replaced him. And now, Sainz has bowed down to Max Verstappen’s dominance even before the season starts. 

The covers are off the 2024 cars and both Red Bull and Ferrari seem to have made significant steps in the right direction. The Ferrari, as Frederic Vasseur suggested, is 95% new compared to last year’s car. Yet, Carlos Sainz doesn’t seem confident in the fact that Ferrari can win the championship. This also conveniently came weeks after Ferrari announced that Carlos Sainz would be leaving the team next year. 

Rumors came out that Red Bull started working on the 2024 car way earlier than any of the competitors, giving them an edge over others. This, along with the fact that Red Bull had the best car last year, is what concerns Carlos Sainz. Even if Ferrari found a second worth of performance in the new car, if Red Bull found 1.5 seconds, they still dominate like they did last year. 

According to formu1a.uno, Carlos Sainz said, “Obviously Red Bull and Verstappen are clearly the favorites for this year’s title because of the lead they had last year and potentially how soon they started developing the 2024 car. But last season we had a positive season finale, so we feel confident and want to start the year as we ended last year, with a good progression.” 

Read More: Charles Leclerc Sets Glaring Goal for 2024 as Lewis Hamilton Threatens Coveted Position

Regardless, Carlos Sainz did end on a positive note advising how Ferrari caught up with Red Bull toward the end of 2023. And if 2024 starts like that, there still might be a chance for the Spaniard and the Scuderia to win the championship. Frederic Vasseur on the other hand made a bold statement about the 2024 season. 

“Making bold choices”: Frederic Vasseur radiates confidence in the 2024 challenger 

Ferrari brought Frederic Vasseur in to take the Italian stable back to winning ways. Vasseur is expected to follow in the footsteps of fellow Frenchman Jean Todt to lead Ferrari to glory. And so far, the improvements and big steps seen are massive. Aggressive hiring from other teams, shuffling of personnel, and biggest of all, signing Lewis Hamilton. Seems like 2024 is going to be a better year compared to 2023.

Frederic Vasseur, while talking about the SF24, said, “The longest-ever Formula 1 season awaits us and Charles, Carlos and I all agree we must be more clinical and effective in how we manage the races, making bold choices.” Charles Leclerc added, “The SF-24 ought to be less sensitive and easier to drive and that’s what you need in order to do well. This season the aim is to be front-runners all the time and I want to give our fans plenty to cheer about, by dedicating race wins to them.”

Watch this Story: Charles Leclerc’s Hopeful Mission: Reviving Ferrari Despite Massive Gap!

Do you think Ferrari will be able to challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull this season?