Not-A-Sprint, Carlos Sainz Urged to Prepare for a “Marathon” Against Charles Leclerc to Win the Coveted Title

When people talk about the new generation of F1 drivers, amongst the Verstappens, Leclercs, and Russells, Carlos Sainz does not get much hype. Looking at his career, Sainz has been a decent racer. Yet, the Spaniard does not get as much attention as a potential world champion. Now, being at Ferrari, Carlos has had a mixed bag of results in 2 years. His first season showed a lot of promise, with him beating Charles Leclerc. Although, 2022 saw the Smooth Operator struggle. Regardless, former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen has urged Sainz to prepare for a “marathon” fight against Leclerc to win the coveted world title.

Speaking to the Spanish website Mundo Deportivo, Mika cited how it is difficult to pick the better driver between Sainz and Leclerc. He even expressed his thoughts on the interesting dynamic this duo can have at Ferrari. So far, it has been unknown and perhaps not started yet.

Hakkinen said, “For [Carlos] Sainz, of course, it’s interesting to see how the two drivers are going to work together, how the team is going to work together and the performance that will come from there.” The 2-time champion feels that the title fight is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So, if Sainz can match Leclerc consistently, it can be an interesting fight to watch.

Mika further added, “It is difficult to say who is better between Sainz and [Charles] Leclerc. It wouldn’t be fair for me to speak my mind because this isn’t just one race or one season, it’s a marathon. The one who reaches the end of the marathon first is the winner. And in this sense, I think that this marathon has not started yet…” [translated via Google]

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Until now, during the pre-season, even Carlos has sounded positive about his 2023 prospects. He even explained his strategy to avoid his 2022 mistakes and get into a title fight against Verstappen and Leclerc. Given Sainz’s struggles to climb up the F1 grid, he would not want to miss out on a golden chance to fight for the world championship with Ferrari.

The Building Journey of Carlos Sainz to Ferrari

Coming out of the talent reservoirs of Red Bull, Carlos Sainz was one of the promising F1 junior drivers. Alongside Max Verstappen, Sainz debuted with Toro Rosso in 2015. While Max beat him convincingly and got a promotion to the senior team, Carlos’s grind was going to be longer.

He persisted with Toro Rosso until the final few races of 2017 when he got a call-up from Renault. This was a pivotal point for the Spanish youngster. From here on, Carlos looked to get away from the Red Bull program and make his own destiny. Now, it was a decent full season with Renault in 2018. Although, Sainz sensed a splendid opportunity at McLaren and took it on.

2019-20 were perhaps the breakthrough seasons for Sainz, as he showed his prowess in a resurgent McLaren. Many thought Sainz’s team pairing with Lando Norris fit well and this will take the Woking team back at the front. But, an opportunistic Carlos had different ideas.

In a crazy season shake-up amid the lockdown of 2020, the Spaniard jumped ship to Ferrari for the 2021 season. Regardless of this early move, just after one year at McLaren, Sainz was spectacular in the 2020 season. It almost became his moment at Monza when he finished 2nd at Monza chasing his maiden F1 win.

This showed how the Scuderia made an excellent call in taking Carlos on board. With an improving Ferrari car, so far he has been decent to show the potential of matching and beating Leclerc. With the kind of build-up and grind Sainz has done, he knows where he comes from and what his goals are.

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So if Ferrari can give him a better car than last year, Carlos Sainz shouldn’t miss out on challenging his teammate. He has got work to do with a lot of improvements regarding his pace and driving. Still, a determined and consistent Carlos has got the ingredients of becoming a champion certainly.