Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz insists Red Bull remains the favourite to clinch both Formula 1 titles in 2024 but contends its rivals can stop it from dominating this season.
Red Bull entered the campaign as the team the rest needed to catch, having produced a record-breaking season last term that comprised 21 victories from 22 rounds.
However, Red Bull’s sizeable advantage has been slashed this year and the opening eight races have seen Ferrari take two wins and McLaren also victorious in Miami.
Max Verstappen revealed that the Austrian squad’s tough outing in Monaco derived from a long-standing weakness riding kerbs being exposed now the grid is closer.
But while Sainz is adamant that Red Bull is still the benchmark on conventional venues, the Spaniard is assured that Ferrari and McLaren are within touching distance.
“I think my common sense tells me that on normal tracks Red Bull should still be favourites,” he said. “Domination, like we were seeing, hopefully not. But favourites, yes.
“And then it will be a very tight fight with both McLaren and us. I think we are all three at a very similar level.
“Our last reference of a normal track is Imola and Miami. And if I see those two tracks, we seem to be half a tenth behind McLaren and maybe a tenth or two behind Red Bull.
“And yeah, it still means that that any small progress, any small upgrade, any small thing that we bring to the car might switch it to a potential race victory or a winning car.
“Monaco, we’ve always been strong. Street circuits like Singapore and last year in Monaco, it shows the strengths of the Ferrari.”
Sainz has agreed with Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur’s view that Red Bull’s errors during qualifying in Monaco show what can happen when its rivals are under pressure.
“And at the same time, being within 24 points of the Red Bull in the Constructors, you see that when you put them under pressure yesterday,” he continued.
“Max did a mistake in Q3 run two, Checo was out in Q1.
“We all just need to be there, you know, to show that these things can happen to Red Bull too. And yesterday is the best example.”
While Sainz has reiterated that Red Bull will rounds weekends on traditional tracks as favourites, he asserts that the competition has the pace to “capitalise” on errors.
“I think Ferrari we will have our opportunities in these sort of tracks,” Sainz assessed.
“I think McLaren will have their opportunities, but when I talk about a normal track we can talk about maybe a Barcelona.
“Canada, I think is quite specific, but a Barcelona or any European track, where I consider it to be a normal track, I still think Red Bull will be favourites.
“But I don’t think they’ll dominate like they used to do. And I think that’s good news for the championship.
“And it’s just worth being within a tenth or two in quali, that even if they’re favourites, they cannot afford to do any mistakes.
“And that’s where both Ferrari and McLaren, we can capitalise, which is a position that in Bahrain race one, no one was there to be there.”
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