Carlos Sainz says Ferrari is “not so far behind” Red Bull as its rivals dominant 2022 season suggests, believing it can challenge them for the Formula 1 title next year.
Ferrari’s wait for its first world championship since 2008 was extended after a convincing defeat to Red Bull, despite the Italian outfit’s strong start to the season.
Charles Leclerc’s victories at the season opener in Bahrain and Australia put him and Ferrari at the top of both championships after three rounds, but persistent errors, as well as Red Bull’s upturn in form, saw the title race swing its the latter’s favour.
Ferrari ended the year 205 points adrift of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, while Leclerc – having held a 46-point lead in the drivers’ standings after Melbourne – finished 146 points behind eventual champion Max Verstappen.
But despite Ferrari’s failure to sustain its title bid, Sainz has faith the Scuderia can strike back in 2023 with a more consistent package.
“I feel we have chances,” Sainz said, as quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“Red Bull has been dominant, but they’ve been dominant without being clearly ahead in pure qualifying pace and race pace. So I don’t feel like we are so far behind in terms of car development and car performance.
“If you think about it, I was on pole in Austin, so it means that we were one-two in Austin in qualifying. So it must be that our car is actually not that far from the Red Bull.”
Ferrari’s season was plagued by reliability issues, along with driver and strategic errors, which culminated in its failure to secure a first drivers’ title since 2007.
When looking ahead to where Ferrari could improve for next year, Sainz felt the team’s performance relative to Red Bull in race trim was a key area to work on.
“What we need to focus on is in trying to understand next year’s tyres [and] see how we can be quicker in the race because it’s clear that the Red Bull is particularly quick in the race compared to us,” added Sainz.
“For the strategy, race execution, tyre management, [they are other steps] that we want to take next year that we are already working on it.
“But in terms of pure performance, we are not far. We just need to put on a bit more power and a bit more downforce in the car and we’re going to be at the same level or faster. So let’s hope that we can do that.”
