Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz is looking forward to a “very tight” battle between his new team and McLaren this season.
The Maranello-based outfit had a drastically difficult season in 2020, finishing sixth in the Constructor’s Championship, 50 points behind Renault in fifth.
However, the team’s new Spanish recruit seems quite confident that they can beat the men in papaya in 2021.
When asked about the potential competition between the two teams, Sainz said; “I think it is very tight, honestly.”
“It is very difficult to pick from.
“I think the McLaren has its strengths and its weaknesses.
“But what makes it a really nice fight is that we are quick in very different places on the track and that makes it a very fun battle.”
Commending his ex-teammate on an incredible drive at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – where Lando bagged the McLaren’s first podium of the season – Sainz added:
“It looked like in Imola, Lando did a very good job of exploiting the whole car potential, and he was on it the whole weekend especially from Saturday onwards, and he did a good race.
“Maybe they had a bit of the upper hand this weekend, and they had the upper hand, a tiny bit, the last two weekends, but as soon as we do a very good weekend and we go to a track that maybe favours us, I think we can be ahead.”
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw Carlos finish in P5 just one place behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in P4 – collecting a total of 22 points for the prancing horses.
Mercedes are currently in the top spot of the Constructor’s Standings heading into the third race of the season with 60 points and are closely followed by Red Bull Racing with 53.
After Imola’s podium finish, McLaren (41) is just 7 points ahead of Ferrari (34), with racing set to resume in just 6 days at the Algarve International Circuit for the Portuguese Grand Prix.