"He doesn’t really deserve to be that far behind" - Carlos Sainz 'has to hit back soon', says F1 pundit

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz needs to make a comeback, according to F1 TV analyst Jolyon Palmer. The ex-F1 driver believes the Spaniard was unfortunate to fail at the Australian GP as he is equally as competitive as his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Speaking on F1 TV about Carlos Sainz’s performance, Jolyon Palmer said:

“It is really tough on Carlos. He is now 38 points behind his team-mate and championship leader Charles Leclerc. He doesn’t really deserve to be that far behind, so many things have just gone against him.”

The Spaniard suffered from a steering issue that caused him to retire in the Australian GP. However, Palmer believes Carlos Sainz does not deserve to be that far behind his team-mate Leclerc.

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Jolyon Palmer fears Carlos Sainz becoming a No.2 driver in Ferrari

The former British driver believes the Spanish driver will have to bounce back in terms of performance before he gradually starts evolving into a support role or a No.2 driver’s role. Performance-wise, Palmer feels there is not much difference between the two Ferrari drivers as can be seen in the points table.

Comparing the two Ferrari drivers, Palmer said:

“It does seem he is morphing into the number two driver at Ferrari and it could have been so different. I don’t think the performance difference between the two drivers has been as stark as the reality is. He has to hit back soon otherwise the team will start galvanising behind Leclerc as they have a cracking chance to win this championship.”

The Ferrari driver is now third in the drivers’ championship, and trails Leclerc by 38 points. Monagasque leads the championship and has two wins to his points tally.