“At Ferrari, not winning is not an option”: Carlos Sainz discusses the importance of his team finishing P3 in the Championship

Carlos Sainz believes that finishing P3  ahead of McLaren in the Constructor’s Championship would be ‘symbolic’ for his team Ferrari. 

The Scuderia had a tough 2020 . The team ended the season 6th in the standings which was their worst performance since 1980. This year, they have showed signs of progress with Sainz and Leclerc putting in strong performances consistently.

The Spaniard shared his thoughts on Ferrari’s battle with McLaren this season. He thinks that finishing P3 ahead of the Surrey based team would be “more symbolic than anything else” because it paves the way towards them winning titles again.

“I think it is more symbolic than anything else,” Sainz said. “Mainly because, as Ferrari, we want to win, so everything that is not winning is not enough. OK, P3 is better than P4, but we want to win, and we are preparing ourselves to have the opportunity to win in the future.

Also read: “We don’t forget where we were last year” – Ferrari eager to beat McLaren to P3 after overcoming the horrendous 2020 season

Ferrari battling with McLaren is preparing them for the future

“We feel like this battle with McLaren is good training for us. It’s good preparation in case next year we are in the mix and we are battling for P1 in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ standings.” said Sainz.

“We feel like this training against such a strong team as McLaren, where they are managing to pretty much every single weekend maximize the result and the potential of their car, is good preparation for us.

“They are very good at executing race weekends, and I feel like this training against them is going to prepare us well for whatever comes in the future.”

Also read: “It is definitely a big step forward”- Charles Leclerc no longer feels powerless in Ferrari

We will capitalize on every single mistake they make, says Carlos Sainz

The 27 year old from Madrid is sure that the battle between the two will go down to the wire. This is because he is sure that both teams will likely be making mistakes along the way.

“If any one of us does a mistake, then the other team jumps ahead,” he explained. “So it’s really tight. “It’s really good fun, actually. I think it’s a great battle. I just hope we can win it and come out on top, but I wouldn’t pick one right now. I think it’s equal terms.”

Ferrari are just 3.5 points behind McLaren with just 5 races in the 2021 season left.