Carlos Sainz: bitter admission about Charles Leclerc

A bitter admission as a nonetheless momentous season draws to a close.

Carlos Sainz has experienced a 2022 not an easy one in Ferrari, despite the first career victory picked up at Silverstone. And, speaking at a press conference from Austin where the U.S. Grand Prix will be held on Sunday, the Spaniard did not hide: “Leclerc has done a better job this year than I have. And this concerns both driving and race management.”

“Charles immediately found more feeling with the new Ferrari than I did,” Sainz added about Leclerc. “I have had to work hard all year to get back to similar levels as last year, and in the end I don’t think I succeeded. And now I’m looking forward to testing next season’s car. I want to see if it is possible to find a better pace right away.”

Sainz acknowledged his growth during 2022, however, in the face of changing conditions at Ferrari in the meantime: “In the first 6-7 races, the car was more competitive, and Leclerc won pole positions and victories. Now I have grown, I drive better and I am faster. But the car is perhaps no longer at the level of the beginning of the season, and beating Red Bull is no longer as easy as it was at the beginning of the year.”