For Sainz, Red Bull “deserves” its domination

After two races with different profiles, the conclusion is no longer hasty: Red Bull clearly dominates the rest of the grid. A scenario that the planet F1 would have preferred to avoid, as the battle between Charles Leclerc et Max Verstappen had animated the start of last season... and even the season before, when the Dutchman won his first title against Lewis Hamilton in the final moments of the championship.

We hoped to see again Ferrari in the match with a supposedly more advanced and more reliable SF-23, all coupled with a Aston Martin mind-blowing and Fernando Alonso decided to play spoilsport. None of that, and the paddock already seems jaded after two races. “ I've never been a fan of being upset about seeing a team dominate, replies Carlos Sainz when asked for his opinion on the undivided domination of the Austrian team. Because if they dominate, it's because they did a great job, and they deserve it. »

« I wish it was us. And I would have been really angry if people were worried about us crushing Formula 1 », asserts the Ferrari driver. In difficulty in the first two Grands Prix of the season, when his teammate retired with a mechanical problem in Bahrain and was penalized by 10 places for the Saudi meeting, Carlos Sainz salutes the work carried out by the Milton Keynes garage. A job that pays off since the reigning world champions have won 12 of the last 13 races in the premier category.

« Unfortunately, it's more of a car sport than drivers, continues Sainz. We know that's what makes the main difference although, of course, the Red Bull drivers are extremely strong. »

And to add: " But if the car is really good, there's not much the other drivers can do to stay in the battle. This is the nature of Formula 1 and we have seen it in the past, it is nothing new. Max Verstappen's rise from 15th place clearly shows that they are in another league. » Verstappen, also penalized following a gearbox change, was nevertheless unhappy with a second place in the exhausts of his teammate Pérez. And the match for the coronation will surely be played between the Red Bull drivers, where the rest of the grid sees its hierarchy completely shaken up by a few tenths. A relative spectacle therefore for this first part of the season, but Christian Horner, main team of the Austrian garage, is convinced of it: “The gaps will narrow when we return to Europe. »

But the race closest to the respective team HQs will not take place until May 21, on the Emilia-Romagna track (Italy)… i.e. the 6th meeting of the longest season in history of the discipline (23 Grands Prix). Before the first Italian round, the Formula 1 circus will pass through Melbourne (Australia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Miami (United States).

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