Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz shared a light hearted moment of banter with each other ahead of the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP.
The Ferraris and Red Bull are expected to compete for the win once again this weekend in Jeddah. Both teams looked strong in Bahrain but Red Bull’s late race engine problems left them point-less.
Verstappen tried his best to get past Charles Leclerc in Sakhir, but the Ferrari driver did his best to hold on. Towards the end, Verstappen’s power unit issues forced him to retire the car. The other Red Bull driver Sergio Perez soon followed suit.
Ferrari meanwhile, put in a mega display, earning a 1-2 finish. Leclerc took P1 with teammate Carlos Sainz finishing just behind him. Overall, it was a very strong start to the season for the Italian team and they will be looking forward to carry it over to the next rounds.
Ferrari by far look like they have the best car this year. Red Bull are also up there in terms of pace, but reliability issues have the entire Milton-Keynes team worried. Other than Verstappen and Perez, AlphaTauri’s (who also use Red Bull Powertrains engine) Pierre Gasly also had to retire his car due to an engine failure in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen jokes that Ferrari has the slowest car and that Sainz/Leclerc duo makes them fast
Ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, Verstappen and Sainz took to the media to banter with each other. The two share a good relationship off track and have known each other since their early Red Bull days.
“I think we can all agree that Ferrari have the slowest car,” said Verstappen. “It’s all Carlos and Charles!”
Sainz, who is also known for his quirky sense of humor, didn’t let this dig slide easily. He decided to target the Red Bull engine’s durability concerns to hit back at the Dutch driver.
“And the Red Bull is the most reliable,” the Spaniard replied. Both drivers would have laughed this off in the press-conference, but the Austrian team will want to avoid a repeat of Sakhir this weekend.
Ferrari lead the Constructors’ Championship going into the race in Jeddah, with Mercedes right behind them. Red Bull will be hoping for a strong points finish to close up the gap to them.
