Charles Leclerc kicked the season off with 2 wins in three races. There was a point in the season when he was 46 points ahead of the eventual winner, Max Verstappen. Despite the car not making further progress, he has fared better than his teammate Carlos Sainz. In his recent interview, the Spaniard showered praises on his Ferrari partner.

For a change, Mercedes have posed no challenge for the top stop this season. Despite coming off better in the last two races, the Silver Arrows are 40 points behind the Prancing Horse. While Ferrari are the favorites to hold on to the runners-up position in the constructors’ standings, can Carlos Sainz pip Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to take the 4th position in the drivers’ standings?

Carlos Sainz heaps praise on his teammate Charles Leclerc

Sainz is currently 4 points behind Lewis Hamilton and 19 points behind George Russell in the drivers’ standings. While he can realistically challenge the Mercedes duo for the 4th position, the hopes of challenging his teammate for the 3rd are over. He recently opened up on his position in an interview with the BBC while lauding his partner.

“I’m realistic,” Sainz said. “And I know how good Charles is in those conditions. This year he has been driving at a level that is very close to Max or any other driver.”

“And for me he’s in a way done a perfect season, apart from the two or three typical mistakes everyone does in a year, or the luck which maybe he has been lacking the same as me,” he continued.

Read More: Charles Leclerc Reveals the Key Difference Between Battling Against Lewis Hamilton And Max Verstappen

Carlos opened up on his struggles, he said. “It has been an extremely challenging season for me.”

“I found a lot of setbacks at the beginning of the year with this new car, with the new regulations, that didn’t adapt to my driving style,” he added.

Charles Leclerc goes on a hilarious rant about his mental strength

Mercedes introduced their final round of changes to the car at the US GP. The amendments paid off as Lewis Hamilton challenged Max Verstappen to race victory in US and Mexico. Charles Leclerc not only failed to challenge the Dutchman to the finish line but also lagged behind Hamilton.

One would wonder how he had managed to stay calm amidst all these new developments. Well, we found the answer in one of his live streams from years ago.

In one of his older live streams, Charles Leclerc was playing the F1 game and crashed into a car that was already involved in an incident. He was handed a 5-second penalty for the same. The penalty triggered him to go on a hilarious rant.

“Oh, my god. Honestly, this is the best mental training. I’ve got a 5-second grid penalty. What the h*ll is this? Honestly, this is the best mental training ever. I’ve never been so angry inside me. I’m just staying calm. Look at me! Look at this! I’m just calm. I just don’t care.”

“So I’ve got a broken neck, a broken computer, a screen that is not working, a five-second grid penalty, went from 2nd to 7th,” the Monegasque said.

Watch This Story: Charles Leclerc Extends 6-Year Monaco GP Curse by Wrecking Iconic Lauda Ferrari Chassis

With just two more races to go, Sainz has the stage set to showcase a fightback. Do you think he can take the 4th position in the drivers’ standings? Or is the Mercedes resurgence too strong a force to beat?