Carlos Sainz is currently trailing his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc by 63 points in the drivers’ championship. Both drivers have bagged five race wins in total this season with the Monegasque clinching one more than the Spaniard. However, there is one crucial aspect of race craft where Sainz trumps Leclerc, as per Marc Surer.
That is his ability to get the best out of the car when it is not capable of delivering top results. The former Arrows driver believes Leclerc is fast only when the car is quick. On the other hand, Sainz holds an edge with his adaptability, which makes him capable of drawing better results from a slower car. This ability, as per Surer, makes the #55 driver championship material and underrated.
“When the car is not perfect, he can adapt. When the car is good, Leclerc is incredibly fast, but only if he is like that. If the car is not perfect, Sainz is faster,” Marca quoted him as saying. “He is capable of becoming world champion at some point, because he can live with a worse car and still be incredibly fast.”
“I would say he is underrated, because he has the ability to continue performing, even if the car is not perfect,” Surer added.
P1! I’m incredibly happy! Scoring another win here in Mexico is even more special, as it’s almost a second home with the support of these fans! Congrats to the entire team! We’re getting closer in the Construtors’ WC. We’ll fight until the end!
https://t.co/YuSdpCA81m pic.twitter.com/5KP4DFRRsr
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) October 27, 2024
This ability will surely come in handy once Sainz makes his upcoming move to Williams. While the team is making some crucial strides in development, they are nowhere near becoming a top side. That will increase their reliability on Sainz to deliver points regularly and also drive their development through feedback on the car.
Sainz to make early Williams debut
The confirmation of Sainz’s impending exit came through the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. With that, the Spaniard was left with limited options of finding a seat with Williams being in the fray. Ultimately, both parties struck a deal for a long-term contract, which would see Sainz drive for the Grove-based team starting in 2025.
That debut, however, will happen earlier than expected as Sainz is set to drive for his new team in 2024. After the season concludes on December 8 with the Abu Dhabi GP, teams will have a day of end-of-the-season testing on December 10. That is when the Spaniard will get his first experience of driving a Williams car.
BREAKING NEWS: Carlos Sainz will drive for the team at the Abu Dhabi end-of-season test, gearing up for the 2025 season! ️
Full details below.
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) November 15, 2024
The announcement came earlier today through Williams’ social media post. The test run could help them get some crucial feedback to tweak the 2025 car to Sainz’s liking. It would be interesting to see how effective that will turn out to be in the upcoming season for Williams.
