Going fast with a car is relatively easy for a Formula 1 driver, but racing on the limit takes something more. It is not a matter of talent, or not only: confidence and experience are needed in each of the reactions of the car. Nobody in the paddock doubts the ability and work of Carlos Sainz, a reference on te grid since his time at McLaren and his first Ferrari year, but it is a fact that the F1-75 is still a stranger to the Spanish native and only Charles Leclerc has been able to extract the maximum performance in the start of the 2022 Formula One season.
Carlos Sainz himself tries to explain why he suffers at the wheel of a car that is theoretically the fastest or at least very close to the Red Bull RB18: “You can see from the on board cameras, I’m still not there, feeling the car, compared to last year. I don’t drive naturally. The car is a bit oversteer (he used the word ‘pointy’) for my taste, but it is what it is, you can adapt to it or try to make the car fit your tastes. Both things take time, trial and error, and I am in that process to correct it as soon as possible. At the same time, to my left (by Charles Leclerc) there is a guy who is doing an excellent job, with impressive laps that I can only admire and in some things try to copy. As a driver, it is a challenge”, he commented in Montmeló.
He is fifth in the World Championship with three podiums and 65 points after fourth place in the Spanish Grand Prix, a bitter fourth due to the poor start and the small spin on lap 7 seven that forced him to continue the race from outside the top ten. This year there were other mistakes from a driver who until now had impressed because of his consistency (his streak of grand prix finishes and in the points was among the longest in championship history). This year there were crashes in Melbourne (race), Ímola (qualifying) and Miami (practice).
The curious case of Sebastian Vettel
In 2019, Charles Leclerc arrived at Ferrari as an apprentice, but from the first kilometers he stood out for his ability to put Sebastian Vettel, his teammate at the time, in trouble. While one aspired to pole positions and victories for three quarters of the 2019 Formula One season, the German driver struggled with several spins uncharacteristic of a four-time F1 champion. That SF90 had a strong front end, but its rear end tended to oversteer (or slightly skid). Charles Leclerc tolerates oversteer and makes it a strong point; Sebastian Vettel would have preferred a Ferrari with more grip coming out of corners, more predictable, as explained by as.com. Now Carlos Sainz finds himself in a similar situation. That said, the difference between the two at the end of that season was just 24 points, with both posting poles and wins.
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It is a matter of time before the Spanish drivers returns to the situation from last year. “All at once, or little by little,” he says, it won’t matter. This week he can redeem himself in Monaco, one of those tracks that he’s traditionally good at. Last year, on the streets of Monte Carlo he achieved his first podium for Ferrari: “I’m always confident and fast in Monaco, I can put in good laps there, but you also need confidence in the car and the balance that you like in Monaco. I’ll go into the weekend like every other, thinking I can win,” said Carlos Sainz.
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