Carlos Sainz eyes a podium and a jump on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2023 F1 British GP

Carlos Sainz hopes to get the jump on the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the 2023 British GP. The Spaniard will start the race in P5, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

To get to the two McLarens ahead of him, Sainz will have to first get past his teammate Leclerc, who will start P4 in Silverstone. While the two drivers usually have similar race pace, the Spaniard is probably high on confidence after winning last year's race in Britain.

The former McLaren driver claimed that it was a bit surprising to see the two Papaya cars ahead of him. The Woking-based team introduced massive upgrades to its MCL60 challenger, seemingly giving them the edge over rival teams Ferrari and Mercedes.

However, their race pace is still currently unknown, giving Ferrari a shot at another podium.

Speaking about his aspirations for the race, Carlos Sainz told Sky Sports F1:

"In terms of pace and car feeling it wasn't too bad. It's just having two McLarens in front was unexpected. Our hopes are to try and repeat but knowing we are six or seven tenths slower than Red Bull."

Carlos Sainz continued:

"We need to focus on trying to beat the McLarens tomorrow, that will put us on the podium, and beating Mercedes that were a lot stronger than us in race pace. It's going to be an exciting race."

Carlos Sainz criticized Ferrari's strategy in Austria

Sainz criticized Ferrari's questionable strategy at the 2023 F1 Austrian GP. The Spaniard claimed that the Scuderia team's decision of not letting him attack his teammate Charles Leclerc at the beginning of the race made him look like a 'fool'.

Sainz seemingly had pace over his teammate Charles Leclerc at the start of the race but was told to back off by the team. He then lost out to Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton after the team double-stacked its drivers under the VSC.

To make matters worse for the Spaniard, he lost positions post-race due to track limits penalties. Carlos Sainz told Fox Sports Premium:

"I had a lot more pace than fourth… being a team player during the first stint and then being compromised like that with a pit stop behind Charles really affected my race. You are being a team player all the time and you have the pace but some decisions by the team leave you like a fool.”

With Ferrari hot on McLaren's heel at Silverstone, it will be interesting to watch Carlos Sainz's race.