Sainz will need a “perfect year” to play for the title in 2023

Carlos Sainz may well break his record in F1 in terms of accounting this season, he is not disappointed with his year 2022. The pilot Ferrari was never in contention to play in the championship, weighed down by hazardous reliability and a failed start to the season.

Quickly left behind at the start of the 2022 financial year, the Spaniard then caught up and convinced, with a first pole then victory at the British Grand Prix, then two other poles at Spa and Austin… but not enough embellish the balance sheet, according to the Iberian. “It was a challenge, confides the Scuderia pilot. There was a difficult first third of the season where I struggled a bit with the balance of the car and the driving style. A car that, for one reason or another, didn't suit me right away and I had to fight against it. Over the last two thirds I've been much more comfortable with the car, but unfortunately I've had a lot of reliability issues along the way. »

2022, Carlos Sainz's most difficult year in F1

Looking back, Carlos Sainz believes that the 2022 season was the most difficult since his arrival in the premier category in 2015, but also the season where he learned the most. “I've had harder and easier years, but never a year as difficult as 2022, recognizes the Spaniard. I found myself in a position where I was driving this car, I was constantly off the pace in the first five, six races. I had to fight a lot to change some things in my driving to try to tune the car a little closer to my liking. I had to reset the way I drove, and it took a long time. » With a victory and three poles obtained in the second part of the season, the ex-driver McLaren nevertheless remains " proud " of its progress throughout the 2022 financial year.

Despite the difficulties encountered this season, the winner of the British Grand Prix is ​​not reached and assumes a displayed optimism for 2023. Carlos Sainz hopes that the lessons learned in 2022 will help him to be a serious candidate for the title. next year. “I think with a perfect year it should be possible, but we have to be perfect next year. And we will have to improve the car. I will have to improve, especially in the first half of the season and in the races. So that's the goal [to win the title] and you have to set high goals for yourself and for the team. You can try to reach them. » 

“We have a chance” in 2023, estimates Sainz

Carlos Sainz thinks " have a chance " facing the formidable Red Bull and facing the Mercedes and recalls that Ferrari has never been far from beating the Austrian team on several occasions this year. “ Red Bull dominated, but they were dominant without being clearly ahead in terms of pace. I don't think we are that far behind in terms of development and performance of the car. If you think about it, I was on pole in Austin! Our car is not that far from the Red Bull. And what we need to focus on is trying to understand next year's tires. The strategy, the execution of the race, the tire management, this is another step that we want to take next year and that we are already working on. But in terms of pure performance, we're not far behind. »

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