"He had the weekend from hell" - F1 pundit says Carlos Sainz might end up playing a supporting role to Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz may find himself playing the role of Charles Leclerc's wingman in the 2022 F1 season after a torrid weekend on track in Melbourne, according to driver-turned-pundit Martin Brundle.

Sainz had a race to forget during the 2022 Australian GP. After only managing to qualify in P9, the Spaniard struggled for pace in the opening two laps before eventually beaching his Ferrari F1-75 in a gravel trap on lap 3.

Brundle highlighted Sainz's plight in his column for Sky Sports F1, predicting what role the 27-year-old could play going forward in the season. He wrote:

"Carlos Sainz had the weekend from hell, missing out on a solid qualifying lap when his friend Fernando Alonso caused a red flag by crashing due to technical issues, and then with further engine starting dramas not delivering a representative lap."

"Out of true position in ninth on the grid, he needed a last-minute steering wheel change which led to an awful start, and he then proceeded to have a brutal midfield fight on Hard compound tires, eventually impatiently spinning off the road."

He added:

"He may well end up having to play a supporting role to [Charles] Leclerc from here, depending on how the competition shapes up and if he can win the next couple of races, which is not out of the question."

After three races, Carlos Sainz has a commendable total of 33 points to his name. However, he is 38 points behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

This early gap could see him become a supporting actor in the Monegasque driver's title bid this season.

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"We are still super cautious" - Carlos Sainz confirms Ferrari playing it safe with development in 2022

Carlos Sainz has confirmed that Ferrari have taken a cautious approach to developing and updating their 2022 challenger after a strong start to the season.

The Scuderia have galloped into a big lead with impressive performances in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

Sainz maintained that Ferrari are confident about the development progress made with their car. However, they still regard Red Bull and Mercedes as favorites, owing to their better performances in the last two seasons.

In a press conference prior to the 2022 F1 Australian GP, the Spaniard said:

“We’re confident we can develop our car. We already have obviously pieces running in the wind tunnel and a car in a wind tunnel that is better than the one that we have right now on track - like all the teams have."

"But we keep saying that Red Bull and Mercedes are the favorites, because we haven’t been in a title fight in the last few years. In the previous years, these teams have out-developed Ferrari, so we are still super cautious because we know we have a great car and we have put together on track a great car.”

After losing his streak of 17 races with a points finish in Australia, Sainz will be hoping to bounce back when F1 returns to Europe for the 2022 Emilia Romagna GP. The race weekend in Imola will take place later this month.