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Carlos Sainz had a splendid 2021 season. He finished every race of the season without a retirement and even managed to grab four podiums. He finished in the points in 20 out of the 22 races last season and had an average finishing position of 6.5. The added bonus was beating his teammate Charles Leclerc in the World Drivers' Championship.
After a successful two-year stint at McLaren, Sainz moved to Ferrari in 2021, emulating his childhood hero Fernando Alonso. Stepping into the shoes of the departing four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, he made the move of his career. Having made the most of his move in 2021, it was only right that he be considered a potential contender for the Driver's Championship in 2022.
Were we wrong about Carlos Sainz going into 2022?
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The ease with which Carlos Sainz blended in at McLaren is not something all drivers are capable of as we have witnessed this year. Producing good results and cultivating a good relationship with his teammate Lando Norris, it is no surprise that he was dubbed the "Smooth Operator" of F1.
Before Ferrari chose the Spaniard to replace Vettel for the 2021 season, they watched him for a while. Their announcement in 2020, came after Sainz had a strong year in which he placed a career-best sixth in the Driver Standings - the highest of any driver outside the established big three teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.
The 27-year-old driver also earned McLaren its first silverware since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. Starting 20th on the grid, he drove a fantastic race to enjoy a well-earned spray of champagne on the third step of the podium.
His performance in 2021 proved that fans were not wrong about him. He proved to both Tifosi and critics alike that he had not let the glam of driving for Ferrari get to him and was focused on producing good results. His bond with Charles Leclerc was unlike anything anyone had seen before, with the pair being Ferrari's youngest in 50 years.
Did Sainz ever even have a championship claim?
Carlos Sainz has been very vocal about how he wants to win races and eventually a championship at Ferrari, but these were mere words. Come qualifying day, he has always been behind his teammate Charles Leclerc so far this season.
It's almost as if no one can keep up with Charles' qualifying pace. He has bagged pole five times in the last seven races and on the occasions when he has missed, he has never qualified under P2. Sainz, on the other hand, hasn’t gotten a single pole position to his name so far this season. However, it must be said that he was extremely close on several occasions.
While one can blame bad luck and bad strategy calls, no one can ignore that Carlos Sainz is being overshadowed by his teammate at the moment.
A win, especially in his home race at the Spanish GP, might have kept his title hopes alive and given him a claim to the championship, but that ended when he got a horrendous start and a few laps later spiralled off into the gravel. This was not the first time that the 27-year-old has made a mistake that has cost both him and the team performance.
He currently places fifth in the Driver Standings, with 83 points to his name, while his teammate sits in second place with a 116 points. While Sainz is currently trailing behind the title contenders, he is not too far behind to catch up yet.
Is there anything he can do to change his form?
At the start of the season, Carlos Sainz's claim to the title was undisputed. His odds were measured to be equal to that of his teammate's. But the 2022 F1-75 proved to be unkind to the Spaniard. He struggled with some issues in races, and in others, he just couldn't do what his teammate could do.
With such a long season ahead, it is hard to say what might change. Ferrari plans to stick to its pre-season development plans and, basically, outmaneuver Red Bull by not spending its budget on upgrades so soon in the season. There have been whispers about the Austrian team already having used up most of its development budget after only seven races this season.
If Carlos Sainz wants to be a contender in the title fight, then he must figure out a way to edge past his teammate on a Saturday. As long as Leclerc dominates in qualifying, the Spaniard will be stuck behind him for the duration of the race. To make matters worse, he's got the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and an invigorated Sergio Perez to worry about as well.
It will be interesting to see whether Carlos Sainz can turn things around soon enough for him to still be a part of the title fight this year. If not, he might be relegated to the role of a 'No. 2 Driver' as soon as the title fight between Red Bull and Ferrari becomes fierce.
