Mark Hughes on what’s in store for Carlos Sainz this season

At the start of the new season, Charles Leclerc is doing just great, he is making full use of the potential of the Ferrari car, which will allow him to fight for victories this year, so now, after three stages, he is leading the championship with a big advantage over its closest rivals.

Also about his partner, Carlos Sainz, although he drives the exact same car. Experts, including former riders working with European TV channels – for example, Timo Glock, David Coulthard and Martin Brundle – believe the Spaniard could now be given the role of the No. 2 racer in the Scuderia. Although Mattia Binotto, head of the Italian team, denies this.

British journalist Mark Hughes, who works with The Race, believes the reasons for what’s happening are due to Carlos’s slower adaptation to new technology.

“Carlos is a little behind Leclerc at the start of the season and although it is a small gap, it is an important moment,” said Hughes. “When Charles can master a new car effortlessly, Carlos, although he also knows how to adapt, usually has to work harder on himself to regain those last split seconds in a situation where something changes. This has happened to him before.

New cars force drivers to seriously change driving style, they cannot be attacked aggressively on curbs, they require a more precise and thoughtful approach. Leclerc manages to improvise and deal with this, skillfully varying the load on all four wheels of the car and actively working with the steering wheel and pedals. And Sainz still sticks to a more traditional and “two-dimensional” approach to pilots.

But in Melbourne he improved significantly and at the start of the weekend he was just as quick as Leclerc. That’s why he was all the more offended when wheel problems ruined both his qualifying and the start of the race. But whatever the reason, after just three races he is already 38 points behind his partner, and this is a pretty serious moment. Although I don’t expect him to give in regularly to Leclerc now.

On the contrary, I suppose that events will now most likely develop according to the same scenario as last fall, ie there will be days when Carlos leads the way.

However, the difficulties at the start of the season mean that in situations where Sainz is faster than his team-mate, he will inevitably feel pressure, which would not have been there if he had performed as well as Leclerc from the start.

If he’s ahead of Charles, he’ll have to wait for the team to step in and ask to let his partner pass. And this is an unenviable fate. However, this is also a good test for psychological endurance, but I’m sure Carlos will pass.”

Source: F1 News

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