Carlos Sainz responds to McLaren threat as former team surge behind Ferrari

Carlos Sainz believes Ferrari will be able to hold off McLaren’s charge behind them in the Constructors’ Championship, despite their rapid improvement in form.

McLaren have charged up the pecking order as the season has progressed and, while they currently sit fifth in the table, they look primed to overtake Aston Martin and, with five races and two sprints to go, there is a chance they could overhaul the 79 points required to catch Ferrari.

But despite his former team’s improvements that have planted them as ‘best of the rest’ behind Red Bull of late, Sainz believes Ferrari should have enough in hand to keep them at bay.

Carlos Sainz predicts Ferrari should keep McLaren behind in 2023 standings

A fuel system leak prevented Sainz from starting the Qatar Grand Prix last time out, costing him and the team significant points as the Spaniard was set for a strong outing at Lusail.

Admitting the demanding race “looked like a good one to maybe skip” in hindsight, given the struggles his fellow drivers faced, a double podium for McLaren gave them a huge haul of points in the Constructors’ standings.

But with Sainz being the only non-Red Bull driver to stand on the podium this season, and Ferrari’s early season form having been much stronger than McLaren’s, he thinks that the Scuderia should have enough in hand to hold onto their place come the end of 2023.

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“I think if we don’t have any other DNS or DNFs, I think we should be able to keep them behind,” Sainz predicted to reporters in Austin.

“Doesn’t mean that they are not going to beat us. I think they’re going to beat us in most of the races from here to the end of the season if all things align, because they do have a very quick car nowadays and they look to be the only ones that can sometimes bother Red Bull, and in a track like Singapore, where maybe it’s more us [who were quicker].

“But I don’t know. I was playing golf yesterday with Lando, we were discussing whether they will be ahead this weekend, or [whether] we will be ahead. Maybe quali, maybe race but basically we don’t know. Let’s see tomorrow.”

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