He got a podium at Monza, albeit battling until the very end with his own teammate before usurping Leclerc’s menacing attack that pushed the Ferrari to its very possible limit.
He went one better than breaking into the top three at Italy by winning under the bright lights of the Marina Bay at Singapore.
It was a night simmered by smashing Ferrari pace and an event utterly unforgettable for those who believe in Red, not only restricted to Maranello.
There was the DRS. There were the demanding and high speed corners, the challenging negotiations at the pacy backbreaking turns. And of course, there was a team play going on between two former teammates; one still at McLaren and trying his ultimate best to negate Mercedes’ race pace advantage and the other, providing the tow in a Ferrari.
For two straight weekends, Carlos Sainz jr., no longer just the teammate of Charles Leclerc, but his own man, a force at Ferrari, was the talk of the globetrotting F1 town.
He couldn’t put a foot wrong. He didn’t put a foot wrong.
His win number second at Singapore meant it was the only victory – even as on date- that his Scuderia stable clinched in a season that’s been only about Red Bull.
And then came the struggles at Suzuka, the home to the famous Japanese Grand Prix.
A lukewarm qualifying effort meant that the contention of scoring vital big points in the race was out of hands.
As it turned out, the Spaniard could manage a sixth in the end; in so doing, he finished a second behind Hamilton and wasn’t as strong as Leclerc’s fourth.
Though the two Ferrari’s finished well inside the top ten, it wasn’t as strong a result as one would’ve hoped after two manic and gainly weekends at Monza and the Marina Bay.
However, Carlos Sainz’s sudden turn of fortunes towards the bad didn’t end there. At Qatar, the next Formula 1 Grand Prix, yet another event won by Verstappen and in fact, on a Saturday, Sainz’s troubles were exacerbated by car trouble.
Perhaps all of that is why they say and aren’t wrong in saying it that all it takes is a weekend to pummel you and also one weekend to make you soar through the roof.
Sainz didn’t even start the race and registered his first DNS at Losail. Meanwhile, Leclerc, who was comfortably beaten by the Spaniard at Singapore and Monza, fought off to claim a fifth.
In lines with his mercurial and promising driver’s recent string of struggles, here’s what team principal Fred Vasseur.
The following is one of the veterans and among the most respected leaders of the Formula 1 world had to say:
“With regard to the issues on Carlos Sainz’s car, we will have to wait until it’s disassembled and the analyses are completed.”
Although Fred Vasseur seemed uncertain about the causes that may have caused Sainz to suffer at Qatar, he did admit that, in addition to the fuel supply issues on car number 55, they also found a battery-related problem.
This is why they had to replace it.
That told, this issue, considering the limited elements of the power unit, could potentially lead to some repercussions for the rest of the season: “We also had to replace the battery on Carlos’ car.”