Max Verstappen has recently revealed that McLaren with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can be the next big challenger of Red Bull. However, as per Mirror UK, Carlos Sainz contradicted the Dutchman and said that his team Ferrari would be up there to challenge in 2024.
Admittedly, no other team other than Red Bull has been consistent this season. As a result, we saw several outfits take up the role of being the second-best on the grid. First, it was Aston Martin who rose to the challenge, followed by Mercedes. Then, after Ferrari’s surge in performance, we saw McLaren’s resurgence. The Woking-based outfit has been consistently up on top over the last two race weekends- behind Red Bull of course.
For Verstappen, McLaren is the easy choice due to their mega resurgence this season. However, for Sainz, it is different as he thinks the Prancing Horse could take McLaren’s place.
Ferrari is the next big competitor for Max Verstappen, believes Sainz
Sainz, the Ferrari star recently opened up on the team that can take on Red Bull in 2024. As the 2023 F1 season was far too strong for rivals to match the Austrian team, the Spanish driver believes that Ferrari has the best opportunity next year.
Talking about this, the Ferrari driver said as per Mirror UK, “If there is someone who can win from time to time to Red Bull, it’s us. I think I’m in the best place to try again next year. But there are still six races left and we still have to focus.”
Nevertheless, the Ferrari star has strong backing to his statement. This is due to Ferrari’s strong recovery in the second half of the season, following their dismal start to the campaign.
Sainz knows why Ferrari can target Red Bull
With Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren are all on the bandwagon to challenge Red Bull in 2024, Sainz has strong reasons why he thinks his team can do it.
Admittedly, the Italian squad was the only non-Red Bull race winner this season, with Sainz himself winning the Singapore GP. That was the one weekend where Red Bull got completely outperformed. Ferrari was there to take full advantage of it.
All in all, Scuderia Ferrari are all set to bring rapid development in their concept next year. Therefore, the Tifosi can put all their hopes on the Italian team to have a massive resurgence in 2024.
