Carlos Sainz: I'll make sure next year we are back to being the consistent Carlos of 2021

Carlos Sainz claims he is going to try his hardest to bring back his 2021-like consistency next year. The 2022 season has been bittersweet for the Spanish driver, who took the first win and pole position of his career this year but failed to mount a championship challenge against Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

While Ferrari was finally able to give its drivers a car fast enough to potentially challenge for this year's title, Carlos Sainz took over a third of the season to get comfortable with his new F1-75 challenger. To make matters worse for the Spanish driver, he has suffered from several reliability and strategic issues, putting his title hopes in jeopardy rather early in the season.

In comparison, the 28-year-old managed to outscore Charles Leclerc with his consistent point-scoring performances in 2021 in his debut season with Ferrari, impressing the entire F1 world.

Sainz summed up his 2022 campaign in a press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP, claiming he wants to return to his 2021-like form next year. He said:

"Yeah, it's been a challenging one, as you guys have seen from the outside. There was a challenging first third of the season where I struggled a bit with the car balance with the driving style, a car that for some reason didn't suit me straight out of the box and I had to fight through it quite a lot. And the second two-thirds I have been a lot happier with the car. I've been a lot more on the pace, but unfortunately, a lot of DNFs, a lot of reliability issues along the way."

Sainz concluded by saying:

"But I've learned a lot. I'm proud of the progress I've done inside the car, with my engineers, the way that we managed to turn my pace around. And yeah, I'll make sure next year we are back to being the consistent Carlos of 2021 and get good results."

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Carlos Sainz wants to 'complicate' things for Max Verstappen in 2023

Carlos Sainz hopes to start the 2023 season in a comfortable position, as compared to the start of the year. The Spaniard also hopes to mount a championship challenge against Max Verstappen and Red Bull, who have been mightily dominant this year.

Carlos Sainz said:

"My goal for next year is to start at the level I am at now, which is quite decent, and to complicate things for Max. We have another opportunity and I fully trust that the team will create another great car like this year's, and we will learn from the mistakes made this year."

The Ferrari driver had a tough time trying to match his teammate Charles Leclerc's raw pace at the beginning of the year, resulting in a mighty points loss for Ferrari in their fight against Red Bull. The 2022 regulation changes didn't seem to suit the former Toro Rosso driver, who had to tweak his driving style to suit that of the new car he was given. In the past few races, however, Leclerc and Sainz have been roughly equal on pace.

Carlos Sainz and the squad will be looking to end the season on a high in the final two races of the year.