Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz does not pay attention to people in F1 who don’t think he’s a spectacular driver.
Over the last few years, Sainz was often labeled as one of F1’s most underrated drivers. The Spaniard made his debut with Toro Rosso, before earning a seat with Renault. The Enstone-based outfit did not bring out the best in him so he moved to McLaren in 2019.
At McLaren, he showed the world how good he can be by consistently finishing the points and even challenging for podium places. This led to Ferrari bringing him over to Maranello in 2021 to team up with Charles Leclerc. After a fifth-place finish in his debut Ferrari year, big things were expected from him this time about.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard took a lot of time to get up to speed with his F1-75. He struggled a lot in the opening stages of this campaign, but gradually improved and managed to get his first-ever F1 race win this July in Silverstone.
His mixed bag of results, however, has led to certain people questioning his abilities.
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Carlos Sainz isn’t worried about others undermining his ability
Sainz has been criticized a lot this season, and it’s possibly the first time in his career that he’s had to deal with Championship expectations. However, he does not let others in F1 get into his head regarding his performances.
The Ferrari driver knows that every single team he has worked with knows how talented he is. He also stated that his former team bosses have noticed how good he is under wet conditions. which can really prove the talent of a driver.
In an interview with Motorsport, he admitted that all he cares about is the opinion of those who work with him. “Honestly I just need the judgement of the people who read my telemetry and work with me,” he said.
Sainz changed his driving style to get better at Ferrari
The F1-75 did not suit Sainz’s driving style during the early stages of this season. He made a lot of mistakes, and was far off the pace compared to teammate Leclerc. It took him a lot of time to get up to speed, but he managed to close to gap considerably as the season progressed.
Sainz revealed that he had to change his entire driving style to get better. “I had to change completely the way I was driving,” the Madrid-born driver said. “In a very unnatural way. I had to change to an unnatural way and make it natural: which takes a long time.”
Driving for a team that was competing for the Title was a very new experience for Sainz. However, now that he’s got a taste for it, the 28-year-old will be prepared and motivated to perform much better in 2023.
