Back in May, Carlos Sainz was announced to replace Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari come 2021. At that time, it felt like a great move and a thoroughly deserved at that.

The Spaniard had been underrated for years, but finally, he was going to be in the cockpit of a car that could win the title. Or so we thought.

Once the season began, Ferrari’s flaws began to surface, and how. They have clearly regressed, going from championship hopefuls to a bang average mid-field team all so quickly.

Perhaps Sainz must’ve had second thoughts about his new contract. Especially considering that McLaren are 36 points ahead of the Scuderia in the Constructors’ Championship table.

Speaking at the drivers’ press conference ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Sainz acknowledged the same.

He said, “I’m not going to lie, there’s jokes here, jokes there that I’m taking it very easy going. But let’s say, I’m not worried or I’m not taking it very seriously. Hopefully, I’m the one who laughs last, as you say in Spain.

“I’m easy going, I accept jokes, and when I can, I joke back. Like after Nurburgring qualifying.”

The McLaren man hasn’t enjoyed the same consistency that he displayed last year; however, that hasn’t entirely been his fault.

He currently sits in 11th place on the Drivers’ Championship table with 51 points and 1 podium. However, the midfield battle is so tight that Sainz is only 17 points off of the 5th placed Sergio Perez.

Carlos Sainz talks about McLaren trying to improve the car for Portimao

The Spaniard said, “First of all, as a team we are trying to make the car faster. “The fact that the team is bringing new parts is a good sign that the team is fighting through and it’s trying everything it can to make the car faster.

“There will be bits that work and there will be bits that won’t. It was the case with the last aero package. We are going into Portugal having understood which of the parts were helping and which other parts were not helping as much.

“We will try to put together a bit of a compromise on the car and make it as fast as possible.”

Speed is the name of the game, and it looks like that’s exactly what McLaren have got their minds set upon. It will be interesting to see how they perform this weekend. Could another podium be a possibility? We shall find out soon enough.