“Quick everywhere”: Carlos Sainz lauds consistent McLaren, downplays Red Bull despite Max Verstappen’s win in Barcelona

According to Carlos Sainz, McLaren is the only team whose car performance has been reliable at every track on the schedule. Speaking to onsite media after the Spanish GP, the Ferrari driver opined that Red Bull was struggling despite Max Verstappen’s win.

Ferrari has struggled at circuits with a layout comprising sharp, long corners, while Red Bull has struggled at circuits with abrasive asphalt, bumps, and kerbs. Unlike them, McLaren has a car that suits every circuit. The Woking team has finished on the podium in each of the last four races following modifications made to their car for the Imola GP. Impressed with his former team, Carlos Sainz opined that they have the most consistent car on the grid.

Asked if Ferrari could find an answer for McLaren and Red Bull in the short term, Carlos Sainz said:

“I think, honestly, the most consistent car right now is McLaren. I think Red Bull are struggling in certain tracks, same as us. McLaren is quick everywhere. They're quick at low speed, they're flat in turn 3 and 9, they were fastest in turn 5 with track warm and ripe. So I just don't see McLaren having any weakness right now. So yeah, for me, obviously Red Bull is still up there, but McLaren is quick everywhere, which is quite impressive.”

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Carlos Sainz reckons Ferrari have to improve their cars for tracks like Spain and Zandvoort

Carlos Sainz believes that Ferrari needs to improve their car for tracks like Spain and Zandvoort, which have a mix of long, swift corners. He felt that their rivals, McLaren and Red Bull, had developed their cars at a higher rate than them. He recalled saying that their Imola upgrade resulted in performance gains of no more than a tenth of a second. The 29-year-old reckons that their upgrade in Spain was no different.

Asked if Ferrari has been overtaken by its rivals in terms of development, Carlos Sainz stated:

“Yeah I think I was very vocal In Imola to say we were bringing a small upgrade and here that we're bringing a small upgrade. But so far we've made a bigger effort you know to bring these two small upgrades. But it seems like the others are either bringing bigger or either just developing more. So it is uh I don't know I think we need to wait also to different tracks.”

Sainz believes the Maranello squad will be competitive again in Austria, where the track characteristics suit them better.

“I think in Austria we will be more competitive uh and then because it's simply the corner types. Yes, simply the corner types and then we just need to make sure when we go to trucks like Spain, Zandvoort, long combined corners that we just improve the package while there will be the Monaco's and maybe Austria’s, where we expect to be more competitive. So it's just how it goes for us right now.”

Red Bull is anticipated to have difficulty at the Red Bull Ring, their home track. However, they have split their upgrades across a few races. The Milton Keynes team has a 60-point lead over the Scarlet squad, but the momentum could swing ahead of the summer break. With a sprint weekend up next, Ferrari will have to nail both the sprint and the race to close the gap with Red Bull and defend their second place from McLaren.