Despite uncertain future with Ferrari, Carlos Sainz reveals his ‘number one’ target for 2023 F1 season

Carlos Sainz has not given up hope of fighting for the title this year, something he considers his biggest target for 2023.

Ferrari and Sainz have made a slow start to the new season. The team are fourth in the driver's championship, behind Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin and Mercedes. Sainz, meanwhile, is fifth in the driver's standings, with a mixed bag of results. He finished P4 in Bahrain and P6 in Saudi Arabia before a late five-second penalty in Australia saw him drop from P4 to P12.

Despite Red Bull and Aston Martin emerging as the two fastest cars on the grid, with Mercedes improving with each race, Sainz remains hopeful of fighting for the title this year. In an interview with Ferrari's official partner VistaJet, the Spaniard said:

"My biggest goal for 2023 is to win as many races as possible and hopefully this takes us to fight for the whole championship."

When asked what record he wanted to beat this year, Sainz added:

"With the number of points we had last season, if you get more points, it means you've had even more podiums and some more wins. That has to be the number one target for me and for the team."

---

Carlos Sainz emerges as prime candidate for Audi F1

Audi are eyeing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz as a potential driver when they enter Formula 1 in 2026, according to reports.

The German automotive giant has confirmed its F1 entry as an engine manufacturer and works outfit, as they bought a major stake in the Sauber F1 team, which goes by Alfa Romeo.

Sainz's Ferrari contract ends after the 2024 season, following which he's expected to join Audi, according to Swiss outlet Blick. The Sauber Group's newly appointed CEO Andreas Seidl worked with Sainz for two years (2019-20) at McLaren, and he's expected to use that relationship to rope in Sainz.

Seidl and Carlos Sainz were instrumental in McLaren's rise to the front of the midfield, finishing fourth and third in 2019 and 2020, respectively. After his brief spell at McLaren, Sainz left to replace Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, while Seidl left McLaren last year to join Sauber.