Brundle: I’ve always been a fan of Sainz’s talent

Last season, Carlos Sainz was the only one to climb to the top step of the podium alongside the Red Bull Racing drivers, and Sky Sport commentator Martin Brundle believes this is no coincidence.

Martin Brundle: “I have always been a fan of Carlos Sainz’s talent, I have known him for a long time and I love his approach and psychological attitude. We also know his father well. I look at Carlos and see that he is slowly learning the wisdom of Formula 1.

To be completely fair, Charles Leclerc is slightly faster, and although this is a controversial question, he can be considered the fastest driver of the championship in 2023, if you remember some of his qualifying laps, which allowed him to gain pole positions.

However, on none of the last twelve occasions where he started from pole did he fail to bring the matter to victory. It’s not all his fault; Max Verstappen played an important role in this. Moreover, Leclerc did not have the fastest car, reliability issues got in the way a few times and Ferrari sometimes made questionable decisions when choosing tactics, etc.

But in the Scuderia there are two different drivers: if Charles just rushes forward, no matter what, then Carlos takes into account all the factors, puts them together, and that is why he managed to win the race in Singapore.

I think this is a very interesting racing duo. Of course, we all very much hope that all teams can close the gap with Red Bull, and that Ferrari will then have everything it needs to achieve more victories.

To achieve this, however, the team must improve a little in almost everything: the car must become a little more powerful, generate more downforce, the Scuderia’s strategists must develop more effective solutions and Charles must miss fewer opportunities to achieve success – because now he does this too often. In short: the team must maximize its potential.”