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Ferrari has been Red Bull’s closest challenger so far, and Sainz is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to win this year with his Australian Grand Prix triumph.
Red Bull’s performance in Japan last weekend, where Verstappen led a dominant one-two finish ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, left no doubt that the Milton Keynes-based team are clear favorites for the titles this year again.
But Sainz has dropped some intriguing hints about what could be coming from Ferrari as it continues to work on some pretty significant developments for its SF-24.
And with Verstappen’s gap at the top of the drivers’ championship reduced by his retirement in Melbourne, Sainz suggested that if Ferrari doesn’t lose too much ground to its main rival at this stage of the year, it could s ‘open. some interesting moments later.
“I think they [Red Bull] “We will definitely have an advantage in the first third of the season until we make one or two improvements that will allow us to fight them more consistently,” explained the Spaniard.
“But at that point it might be a little too late with the championship advantage they might have.
“In the meantime, we need more Australians, but I don’t see Red Bull as a team making these mistakes very often, no.
“[It’s] It’s a shame, because I also missed a race, which, both for the team and for me, could cost the championship dearly. We are doing one less race, but at the same time, we are going to give the best of ourselves. It’s also my last year at Ferrari, so yes, I have nothing to lose and we will try everything to come back.
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Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur praised the progress his car made in areas of weakness last year, namely high-speed cornering and tire degradation.
And while he is aware of the advantage Red Bull has at the moment, he believes that just getting closer to the team that sets the pace at the moment is enough to start putting them under pressure and to that it makes mistakes, as happened in Melbourne.
“We have taken a huge step forward at high speed compared to last year and Suzuka is certainly a good example,” Vasseur said. “And on the tire management method.
“But we still have weaknesses today. It’s always a kind of compromise, you improve somewhere and lose elsewhere.
“But overall, I think if you compare with Red Bull over the last four events of last year and the first four events of this year, we have taken a good step forward.
“For sure [we] We still have a little lead, but the goal is to be able to put them under pressure and with pressure you make more mistakes.
Vasseur is equally realistic about the tight situation behind Red Bull, which is why he is taking nothing for granted about the hopes for the remainder of the campaign.
“It’s so tight that I think what’s crucial in my business is humility,” he said. “This [Japan] This weekend, you had four teams in tenth in qualifying. This means you don’t have to assume that what you did one weekend will be true the next weekend.
“We will start from scratch next week. And we have to keep this mindset for all races.
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