The top half of the driver’s championship is heading for an exciting finish, with there being no confirmed rankings apart from Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez (P2) and Carlos Sainz (P5) have only 71 points between them, with just five races to go in the season. The immediate goal for Sainz would be to overtake Fernando Alonso (P4) in the rankings, as there is only a 30-point deficit between them. During an interview with F1 TV (clip posted on X by ‘Carlos Sainz News’), the Spaniard admitted to thinking about overtaking Alonso in the rankings, but the race in Qatar spoiled his plans.
Despite an average start to the season, Sainz found his rhythm once racing began after the mid-season break. In Singapore, he became the first non-Red Bull driver to record a race win this season while simultaneously putting a halt to the unbeaten streak of Verstappen. As he remains the only non-Red Bull race winner of the season, Sainz has found great pace race after race and is starting to outshine his teammate, Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver is in P6 with a gap of eight points from his teammate, which could have been more had the Spaniard raced in Qatar.
Carlos Sainz names Qatar as the race that might lead to him not overtaking Fernando Alonso
Having only recently found his form, Sainz has been far from optimum when looking at his performances throughout the season. The Spaniard saw a DNF in Belgium and failed to earn a single podium between the Brazilian and the Italian Grands Prix. However, the recent spike has seen him overtake Leclerc in the driver’s standings, and he is close to besting Alonso, too. But the Spaniard believes (per the interview clip uploaded on X by ‘Carlos Sainz News’) that the DNS in Qatar might not allow him to take up P4 in the driver’s standings.
“Let’s say, without Qatar, I was thinking I could do it. After Qatar, looks – missing a race, you know, it’s tough and a lot of points lost there. I’ll still give it a go.”
Sainz added he will keep pushing not to catch up with Alonso but for his own sake and will look to finish the year on a strong note. Meanwhile, Alonso is not having the best of times with Aston Martin despite one of the strongest starts to the season. The team fell well behind the others in the development race over the season, and Alonso is the one suffering as he has gone from a consistent podium finisher to battling it out in the middle of the park.
Not all hope is lost for Sainz
As Alonso and Aston Martin suffer a major slump in a crucial phase of the season, there is still enough time for Sainz and Ferrari to break into the top four of the driver’s standings. With just thirty points between them and five races to go, it’ll come down to how well each driver can handle the pressure as the end-of-the-season showdown will set the tone for the upcoming season.
Average points scored over last 3 GPs:
Max Verstappen 23
Lando Norris 19
Oscar Piastri 15.7
Carlos Sainz 12
Charles Leclerc 11.3
Lewis Hamilton 10
George Russell 7.7
Fernando Alonso 4.3
Sergio Perez 1.7At this rate, Lando would pass Alonso & finish P4 in driver’s standings. pic.twitter.com/C1rHiaCm9K
— Dan’s DRS Zone (@F1GuyDan) October 14, 2023
Having shown considerable improvements as compared to the start of the season, the Maranello outfit is hopeful of a strong season in 2024, much like the one they had in 2022. Meanwhile, Aston Martin will be hard at work to determine what all went wrong with their car and would want to do everything they can to once again become the dark horse on the grid.
