The performance of finishing ahead of his Scuderia Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in his first season with the Maranello team has made several F1 pundits believe that Carlos Sainz does not get the credit he deserves, including Tom Clarkson from F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast and 1996 Formula One World Champion Damon Hill.
Carlos Sainz left McLaren to join Scuderia Ferrari ahead of last season, with many pundits and fans alike questioning if this was the best move for the Spanish driver given the circumstances at that time. In 2020 McLaren had a car which performed much better than Ferrari’s, who was facing a very difficult moment due to the poor performance of the power unit following the investigation into the 2019 engine. However, the Spanish driver made it clear that he is confident joining Ferrari was the right choice.
Despite the fact that Mclaren was able to score a race win in 2020 with Daniel Ricciardo who finished on top in the Italian Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari won the duel for third place in the Constructors’ Championship as Carlos Sainz ended his first year with the Maranello team in fifth place, just behind the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers. A great achievement for the Spanish driver, who beat his former team-mate Lando Norris by 4.5 points while his new team-mate, Charles Leclerc, was P7 – although only 5.5 points adrift.
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Regardless, beating Charles Leclerc by any margin, and at a team that has already backed the Monégasque as their future, was an impressive performance.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Formula 1 journalist Tom Clarkson explained: “When Carlos was Max’s team-mate at Toro Rosso back in 2015, I think in qualifying they were separated on average the whole season by less than a tenth of a second. I’m sure Max has improved a lot, but sure Carlos would have improved as well. It is weird, I think some times he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, Sainz, and I don’t know why because he has done a fantastic job this year.” – he added.
He was echoed by 1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill: “He is a grower isn’t he? They [Ferrari} are saying that he has learned a lot, that’s the thing about Carlos, he’s got talent, he’s got ability and I think he is really quite smart. He’s done a good job, he’s a nice lad. But, he added, “when you talk about the next generation coming through, I think a lot of people would say Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lando Norris… Carlos needs to be in that group and I’m not sure everybody puts him there.” – the former Formula 1 driver concluded.
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