Carlos Sainz Reveals He Does Not Enjoy Battling Against ‘Idol’ Fernando Alonso

Ferrari star Carlos Sainz who idolizes his compatriot Fernando Alonso has revealed that he does not enjoy battling against the 2-time world champion. Recently, a lot of talks about the growing feud between the two have also emerged.

Some of the F1 experts have even claimed that the duo does not see each other eye to eye anymore after they were involved in incidents on two consecutive weekends. Sainz, however, has snubbed all these rumors saying that their relationship continues to be very good.

When asked if he is enjoying his battles with Alonso in the 2023 season, Sainz told the F1 Nation podcast, “No I always feel like I’m looking in the mirror.” The Ferrari star further explained that in the qualifying sessions, the Prancing Horse is faster than Aston Martin but in the race, the British outfit has been able to outperform Ferrari. On top of their powerful package, the team has also got Alonso who is very competitive.

Carlos Sainz would be cheering for Fernando Alonso if he were home

Alonso has helped the Aston Martin F1 team rise to the grid and therefore has garnered another set of new fanbases. The British team is most likely the 2nd fastest car on the grid after Red Bull.

Speaking to Marca, even Sainz said, “If I were at home watching Formula 1, I would also be supporting Fernando. In the end, it is he who has won the two World Cups… He has made me come to F1, and I fell in love with this sport.”

Sainz has so far only 1 victory in his racing career while Alonso has 32 wins to his name. Ever since Alonso’s rise back to the top, fans have been waiting to see the Spaniard win his 33rd race.

Sainz labels Ferrari’s failure as a slap in the face

The Ferrari driver had started the race in Miami GP from P3 but dropped two places by the time of crossing the chequered flag. Sainz and Alonso were involved in close battles for multiple laps and the young Spaniard believes that his attempt at trying to overtake Alonso is what backfired at him.

Sainz explained that the several fast laps that he did cost heavily on his tires and therefore he was easily overtaken by other drivers. He also said that the improvement of other cars feels like a ‘slap in the face’ after Ferrari shows promising pace in qualifying.