Carlos Sainz is currently in his last season as a member of the Ferrari racing team.
Although Carlos Sainz wants to dream of a Ferrari title fight, “common sense” has him believing that Red Bull are still the “favourites” for the F1 2024 title.
However, the Spaniard remains optimistic that the power of “small things” could shift the momentum.
Carlos Sainz: Red Bull should still be favourites
McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari have achieved a remarkable feat in the F1 2021 season. It is the first time that three teams have won three consecutive races since the era of old-spec cars came to an end.
McLaren won the Miami Grand Prix in their upgraded MCL38, Max Verstappen pipped Lando Norris by 0.725s to triumph at Imola, with Ferrari winning the last race in Monaco.
After securing a series of podiums in the early season, Ferrari’s triumph in Monaco has brought them within a mere 24 points of Red Bull. However, Charles Leclerc, in the Drivers’ standings, trails behind Verstappen by 31 points.
However, it does not imply that a title fight is imminent.
Despite the excessive hype from pundits and former F1 drivers, particularly following Red Bull’s difficulties with kerb-riding in Monaco, Sainz believes that once Formula 1 returns to its usual tracks, the reigning World Champions will regain their dominant position.
“I believe that based on common sense, Red Bull should still be considered the favorites on regular tracks,” he stated to the media, including PlanetF1.com. “While we hope not to witness their complete domination, they are still expected to be the frontrunners.”
“Following that, we can expect an intense battle as both McLaren and ourselves are evenly matched and operating at a similar level.”
When he says “normal”, he doesn’t mean Montreal.
But what if Red Bull weren’t in the mix?
The F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship standings without Max Verstappen
Revealed: The F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship without Red Bull
He further commented that both Ferrari and McLaren will have their chances.
“When discussing a regular track, such as Barcelona or any European circuit, I believe Red Bull will still be considered the favorites. However, I don’t anticipate them dominating the way they have in the past, unlike the more unique track like Canada.”
“This is great news for the championship. It is crucial to be within a tenth or two during qualifying, as even if they are considered favorites, they cannot make any mistakes.”
“And that’s the position where both Ferrari and McLaren, which we can capitalize on, were able to secure in Bahrain, the first race of F1 2024, where no other team managed to be.”
He continued by saying, “When comparing our performance to the normal tracks like Imola and Miami, it appears that we are slightly behind McLaren by half a tenth and possibly a tenth or two behind Red Bull.”
“It signifies that even the slightest progress, upgrade, or modification we make to the car has the potential to transform it into a winning contender for a race victory.”
“Throughout our history, Monaco has consistently showcased our unwavering strength. The presence of street circuits like Singapore and our remarkable performance in last year’s Monaco race further solidifies the Ferrari’s exceptional abilities.”
Despite this, he believes that Red Bull’s competitors have the potential to exert greater pressure on them this season, potentially resulting in more errors similar to Verstappen’s during the qualifying rounds in Monaco.
“In addition,” he remarked, “if you observe closely, despite being within 24 points of the Red Bull in the Constructors’, we witnessed both Max making a mistake in Q3 run two and Checo getting eliminated in Q1 when they were put under pressure simultaneously.”
“We must all be present to demonstrate that even Red Bull can experience such occurrences.”
Read next: ‘Gone’ verdict delivered as Kevin Magnussen courts F1 race ban
