Home

F1

“Carlos Will Be All Over Him” – Team Principal Warns Ferrari of Underestimating Carlos Sainz

Published 05/16/2020, 2:06 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

Carlos Sainz’s former F3 team principal Trevor Carlin believes the Spaniard will emerge out of Charles Leclerc’s shadow at Ferrari. Carlin thinks Ferrari has “underestimated” Carlos Sainz and believes the Spaniard will match Leclerc in equal equipment. With Ferrari announcing Sainz for 2021, many predict the Spaniard to play a supporting role at the Scuderia.

How will Sainz fare at Ferrari?

As things stand, Charles Leclerc is Ferrari’s de facto team leader. He’s the Maranello outfit’s future and has the monumental task of ending the Scuderia’s 13-year wait for a Championship. By signing Leclerc on an unprecedented 5-year contract, Ferrari has enormous faith in the 22-year-old.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Team principal Mattia Binotto didn’t say it outright, but Ferrari expects Sainz to play the team game. This isn’t to say he’s a number 2 driver but he’s certainly no number 1. Many fans and experts are already projecting Sainz as Ferrari’s next “Barichello” but they could be wrong.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest F1 stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

If Sainz shows good pace, Ferrari won’t go out of its way to sabotage his race. At the end of the day, the Italian team is also vying for the Constructors’ Championship. Additionally, Sainz has all the attributes the Italian team needs at the moment – young and aggressive but most importantly, smart.

His Former F3 boss fully expects him to take the fight to Leclerc. Speaking to Reuters, Carlin said:

Ferrari, if they thought they were hiring a number two, might have underestimated Carlos,”

 “I hope they haven’t done that. 

“I know there’s this story going around that Red Bull have got a number one, Mercedes have got a number one, Ferrari have got a number one. But I don’t see that with Carlos.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“I think Carlos is bloody good. Maybe Charles might edge him in qualifying but when it comes to the race, I think Carlos will be all over him. I think he’s going to be fighting to earn his stripes there, he really is.”

“I think the pressure actually will be on Charles’ shoulders,”

“When Carlos really steps up he could be the surprise show there and make the tifosi  very, very happy.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“He’s matured into the real deal. 

Ferrari will have its youngest driver pairing in over 50 years in 2021. However, will youth succeed where experience failed?

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Abhishek Bharadwaj

720Articles

One take at a time

Abhishek Bharadwaj is an F1 author and content strategist at EssentiallySports. Having joined ES in January 2020, he has over 700 articles to his name. While he was first introduced to the world of F1 in 2006, he started religiously following the sport in 2012 and has had an undying passion for it ever since.
Show More>