“I think Carlos will get closer to Leclerc”– Jenson Button

“I think Carlos will get closer to Leclerc”– Jenson Button feels Ferrari’s recruit Carlos Sainz will soon make an upward trajectory.

Carlos Sainz had a decent start to his career at Ferrari, as he managed to bag P8, while his teammate Charles Leclerc brought in P5, giving Ferrari a total 12 points tally from Bahrain.

With Leclerc having two years of prior experience with Ferrari, it is obvious that initially, he would have the upper hand over Sainz, but Jenson Button thinks the advantage will soon wear out.

“I think Carlos will get closer to Leclerc very soon,” Button told Sky F1. “I spoke to the McLaren engineers, and they told me the Spanish driver is basically an engineer. He has a very intelligent approach and works closely with the team for many hours.”

“That’s great, of course, because he doesn’t let his emotions get the better of him when it comes to getting the most performance out of the SF21.

“He doesn’t go over the top when he drives, and we saw that throughout the weekend in Bahrain. He’s a great guy, and Ferrari can boast of having a great pair of drivers.”

Massive respect for Charles Leclerc

Whilst Button is spotting a fierce battle between the two teammates, Sainz has already brought some dignity into the contest and has expressed his teammate’s admiration.

“I know I’ve been up against guys like Max, Nico [Hulkenberg], Lando – who is super-fast, for me one of the fastest guys I’ve come across – and I know what I’m capable of against them,” Sainz told The Race.

“But my respect for Charles is enormous, especially after what he managed to do with this Ferrari last year. That was impressive to all of us, not just you guys in the media, but for the drivers too. We knew he was doing something special on Saturday.

“I know I’m up against one of the fastest, if not the fastest, guys in qualifying, so it motivates me. I’m curious to see how I stack up against him, how can I also improve myself, what can I learn from him, to see why he is that good with the Ferrari at maximising the lap.

“Until I’m up against him, I will not know why he’s that good. So I’m keen to learn.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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