Carlos Sainz is 'clearly not at' Charles Leclerc's level, says former F1 champion

Carlos Sainz is not at the same level as his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in the ongoing 2022 F1 season, according to former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

The 27-year-old started the year strong with two podium finishes in Sakhir and Jeddah after finishing 2021 as the leading Ferrari ahead of Leclerc. In the four races since, however, Carlos Sainz's chances of fighting for the world title have unraveled significantly.

The Spaniard has had two consecutive DNFs in Imola and Melbourne which saw him drop off in the fight against Leclerc. Sainz has also been outshone 6-0 in qualifying and 5-1 in races by his teammate. All the while, he has made some costly errors for both him and Ferrari.

Villeneuve, who won the 1997 F1 world championship with Williams, feels the disparity between Leclerc and Sainz is too obvious after the latter's P4 finish at the 2022 Spanish GP.

In a column for formula1.nl, the Canadian wrote:

“[Carlos] Sainz is making too many mistakes at the moment, he is clearly not at [Charles] Leclerc’s level. He really has to be driving on the edge all the time to keep up with Charles. That shouldn’t happen with a car that can win races and the championship. Ending up behind a Mercedes and missing out on the podium was not a good day for him.”

Leclerc led the World Drivers' Championship up until his first DNF of the season and is currently in P2 with 104 points. Sainz is three spots behind him with 65 points to his name.

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"I'm struggling to get on top of it" - Carlos Sainz admits Charles Leclerc has understood the Ferrari F1-75 better

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has openly admitted that Charles Leclerc has understood the F1-75 very quickly and that is something he will need to emulate.

Speaking to the media ahead of the 2022 F1 Spanish GP, the local hero said:

“It is not a secret that he [Charles Leclerc] found his groove very quickly with this new car. I’m struggling to get on top of it. Even if I’m struggling, you know I’m a tenth off in pretty much every qualifying – so it’s not like I’m miles away.”

The 27-year-old went on to add, saying:

“I feel like I’m within reach and that it could change any weekend, as soon as I figure a bit my head around the exact way that I need to drive the car and the exact way I need to set it up for my liking. So the record might not be great, and I’m not particularly proud about it. But the last few qualifyings have been fighting for pole position, so it’s not that I’m lacking a lot.”

Despite a trip to the gravel at the entry of Turn 4 early on in the race, Sainz managed to finish in P4 to record his best result at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.