Carlos Sainz: I am not proud, because I am not ahead of Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz revealed that he does not feel proud of himself this year in Ferrari because he is falling behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in the statistics. Although this season has been one of the best of his career so far, he feels that he will only be proud when he finds himself ahead and will keep working until that happens.

Speaking to the BBC, he said:

"I am not proud, because I am not ahead (of Charles Leclerc). The day I am ahead in the statistics is the day I will be proud. Until then, I will keep working at it, keep finding lap time in myself."

Carlos Sainz had tough luck when the season started, having retired from two of the initial four races. The remaining two races, however, were brilliant for him, despite constantly falling short of Charles Leclerc's pace during almost every session. He stated that even though he has felt fast in every car he has driven, the F1-75 has not been so easy for him. According to him, this was the first time in his career that he didn't find himself 'natural' with a race car.

Sainz said:

"I always feel like I am quick in any kind of car, and for the first time in my career I found myself with a very competitive car but one I didn't feel comfortable and natural with."

---

Carlos Sainz happy about 'turning his season around'

Although he had a bit of a tough season around the start, Carlos Sainz has recently caught up with the challenge. He has closed up the gap to Charles Leclerc and continues to work hard. When asked, he stated that he hasn't seen many drivers do this, and is very happy that he achieved this result.

The Spaniard said:

"When you see other drivers on the grid, you can see it is difficult to turn around a season, or turn around the feeling with the car. You don't see it very often. The fact I managed to do that makes me happy."

Carlos Sainz has made impressive progress throughout the season. He closely chased Max Verstappen in his Red Bull RB18 during the Canadian GP but failed to make an overtake. He carried the momentum into the British GP and managed to win the race, making it his first-ever victory in F1. During the celebration, he stated that winning his first race with Ferrari meant a lot to him.

With just two races left in the season, he still has the challenge of taking on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who are right ahead of him in the championship standings.