Formula 1

Sainz plans to 'chip away' at Leclerc advantage, coy on F1 title hopes

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Carlos Sainz plans to "chip away" at the advantage Charles Leclerc enjoyed at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

After outscoring the Monegasque last year, it was somewhat surprising how Sainz wasn't quite on the pace of his Ferrari teammate all weekend.

But speaking ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP this weekend, the Spaniard, who is expected to sign a new contract at the Scuderia very soon, wasn't too concerned due to his own current issues.

"I mean I was right there in the fight for pole in qualifying, and this was good news for me, for the lack of feeling that I have with this car and the lack of understanding that I feel I have," Sainz explained.

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"But the fact is that I still need to work on the set-up, I need to work on the car understanding.

"I’ve done my analysis in these three days with my guys and we had a couple of very interesting theories and a couple of very interesting things to try here," he added.

"I don’t think it’s going to be a matter of one race. A bit like it was last year, no? Little by little chip away at it and get there.

"But we also need more samples. I don’t know if Bahrain was a bit of a one-off and all of a sudden here I am back to where I should be or where I expect myself to be. So let’s see. It’s still early days."

After the Italian team emerged with a 1-2 finish at Sakhir, following Red Bull's late problems, Sainz was asked about the prospect of battling Leclerc for the championship in 2022.

“It’s just great news for Ferrari and for us because it’s where Ferrari should be and it’s where Charles and I want to be in our lives, fighting for World Championships,” he replied.

“It’s still a long year, we still need to make sure we develop well this car because at the moment it’s a quick car, but it also needs to be quick the whole year to keep us in the fight and it’s a great problem to have, actually.

“Before the race, Charles and I were working together and the first thing we said to each other is how good it feels, just to be starting first and third and to finally be fighting for something bigger, and together," he noted.

“We kind of had that moment of just realising we are in the fight this year, and it was…between us a good moment to reflect and to realise we are a lot luckier in that sense than last year, and we have a good fight on our hands.”

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And though Ferrari has famously employed team orders before, Sainz was confident he would have the chance to fight Leclerc.

“It’s important for both of us to have the freedom to go all out and, if we meet on the track, we’ll give it our all but always put Ferrari first,” he concluded.

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