3x Ferrari race winner sets timeline by which the Italian team will be competitive against Red Bull

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has outlined how the Italian team could close the gap to Red Bull and start putting pressure on them.

The start of the 2024 F1 season has been a rollercoaster for the three-time race winner with Ferrari, but he has performed brilliantly. Even though he was unable to compete in the Saudi Arabian GP due to appendicitis, he won the 2024 F1 Australian GP after Max Verstappen had to retire due to brake failure. He also finished third in the Bahrain and Japanese GPs.

Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc also had a decent start to the 2024 F1 season with two podium finishes in Saudi Arabia and Australia. However, despite all of that, Ferrari was unable to properly challenge the defending world champions.

Max Verstappen has continued his dominant run in 2024, winning three out of four races. His teammate Sergio Perez also delivered strong performances and secured second place in three out of four races, losing out only in Australia.

Speaking to the media, Carlos Sainz explained that Ferrari would have a chance to fight with Red Bull more consistently when they bring upgrades after the first third of the season. However, he feared that by that time, the Austrian team would have a massive advantage over the Prancing Horses.

“I think they are definitely going to have an advantage in the first third of the season until we bring one or two upgrades that make us fight them more consistently. By that time, maybe it's a bit too late with the advantage that they might have in the championship,” Sainz said (via RacingNews365)

Later on, he hoped that situations like the one that occurred in the Australian GP would happen more often, which could give Ferrari a chance to compete for race wins.

“In the meantime, we need more Australias! Which I don't see Red Bull, as a team, making these mistakes very often,” he added.

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Carlos Sainz believes Ferrari could compete with Red Bull on certain tracks

Even though Carlos Sainz felt Ferrari wouldn't be able to catch Red Bull without upgrades, he talked elsewhere about how his team could compete with them on certain circuits.

As quoted by formula.uno, Sainz said:

"We must not forget that here [Japanese GP], Red Bull has brought an important update and we have not. In terms of race pace, we aren't that far off, we were 1-2 tenths higher on the lap, but it's true that there will be circuits where we can compete. Suzuka definitely not, but on others definitely yes," Sainz said.

After the Japanese GP, Carlos Sainz is fourth in the 2024 F1 drivers' championship table with 55 points, while Charles Leclerc is third with 59 points. Max Verstappen leads the table with 77 points, and Sergio Perez is second with 64 points.