F1 News

Sainz hopes to beat former McLaren team: 'It's very tight'

21 April 2021 at 16:45
Last update 21 April 2021 at 18:33
  • GPblog.com

The performance isn't even close to the times Ferrari managed to win a few races with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, but compared to last year the SF21 is at least an improvement. Where the Italian team was ridiculed last year, they are now fighting with McLaren for third place in the Constructors' Championship.

Great fight

McLaren's orange car has managed to stay ahead of the Scuderia in both races so far, but Carlos Sainz explained in conversation with Motorsport.com that he thinks he can beat his former team. "I think it's very tight, honestly. I think the McLaren has its strengths and weaknesses. But what makes it a really fun fight is that we are fast in very different places on the track."

Despite the picture the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive' tried to paint the Spaniard was happy for his mate Lando Norris. "It seemed that in Imola Lando used the whole potential of the car very well and he was on it all weekend, especially from Saturday, and he drove a good race."

Circuit-dependent

Ferrari said it was struggling to keep up with McLaren at the end of the race in Imola because it had opted for a higher downforce set-up. This was needed to provide grip during the wet weather. Sainz, however, is optimistic for the rest of the season: "Maybe they had a little bit of an upper hand this weekend and they had a little bit of an upper hand the last two weekends as well, but as soon as we go to a circuit that is favourable to us, I think we can take a lead."