2016 F1 World Drivers' Champion Nico Rosberg is of the opinion that Carlos Sainz simply does not seem to have what it takes to become a world champion. The former world champion believes that while Sainz is certainly talented enough to do well at Ferrari, he still needs to match his teammate's level in order to become world-champion material.
As repored by PlanetF1, Rosberg said:
“Sainz has got it in him to be a good, decent driver within Ferrari, but at the moment he has not got it in him to be a World Champion. Because on performance, [Charles] Leclerc has been outdriving him every single race this year.”
He further said:
“So there he still needs to find quite a bit of progress to be on level terms with Leclerc, he is still somewhat away from there. That comes as quite a surprise after last year but of course the car is completely different so maybe it takes him more time to get on top of things.”
The former Mercedes driver then went on to praise Max Verstappen's drive at the Canadian Grand Prix, where the Dutchman managed to secure a win despite being under extreme pressure from Carlos Sainz's undeniably faster Ferrari.
Ferrari believes a maiden race win is not too far for Carlos Sainz
With Ferrari having a stronger pace than Red Bull at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last weekend, Carlos Sainz had the opportunity to win his first F1 Grand Prix, but lost it to the reigning world champion. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, however, is confident that the 27-year-old's first win will come soon.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, Binotto admitted that Sainz could have potentially won the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix:
“[Carlos] Sainz is driving better than at the beginning of the season and will soon take his first victory. Today he had something more and it is a pity that he did not win. Without a little mistake, perhaps he would have made it, but he was good at keeping the pace and attacking until the last lap.”
Carlos Sainz has secured a top-five result in every race he has finished in the 2022 season and has suffered a total of three DNFs. He currently stands fifth in the Driver Standings with 102 points.