Carlos Sainz admits he 'wasn't ready' to drive Ferrari's 2022 F1 car

Carlos Sainz revealed last year that he was not 'ready to drive' Ferrari's 2022 challenger SF-75. After finishing the previous campaign on a high, the Spaniard had an underwhelming start to the 2022 season.

Sainz, despite racking up multiple podiums, could not match up to the performance of his teammate Charles Leclerc in the early part of the year. The Spaniard often overdrove the car, eventually leading to costly mistakes and crashes during race weekends that would set him back.

Speaking to Motorsport-Magazin, Carlos Sainz said he was not ready to drive a 'championship' challenging car in early 2022. He said:

“To be honest, I wasn’t ready with last year’s car. With the style of the 2021 car, I could have won the World Championship. Last year I was not in a good position, it happens. There will always be cars that are made for you, you jump in them and without pushing yourself to get an excellent lap time.

He further added:

"Then there are cars that you push and try everything, but you realize that that certain something is missing. That’s what I was missing last year.”

---

"It is true that I also learned a lot last year fighting at the front" - Carlos Sainz

Sainz learned a lot from the 2022 season, driving at the front of the grid for the first time. The former Red Bull junior finished the season fifth in the driver's standings with one win and three pole positions in 2022. Speaking to Autosport, he said:

“It is true that I also learned a lot last year fighting at the front. It Is different to fighting at the midfield. The level of pushing is different, the level of management, how to win a race, how to make a pole position, are things that I hadn't been doing for nine years, eight years since my World Series days. It's probably an experience that will do me well for this year, I think.

He added:

“There's consistency last year that used to be one of my strongest assets as a driver. Whatever the reason was, I don't carry the car feeling or comfort. I abandoned a bit that consistency that made me so strong in my McLaren years and in my first year with Ferrari."

It would be interesting to see if Carlos Sainz can make a better start to the 2023 season compared to last year and make a dash in the title fight.