Sainz: No complaints over Red Bull domination, 'they deserve it'
Carlos Sainz says Red Bull's current domination is a fact of life in Formula 1 this season, and one that the Milton Keynes-based outfit fully deserves.
In Bahrain, Max Verstappen picked up where he had left off in Abu Dhabi last year, the Dutchman trouncing his rivals onboard Red Bull's blindingly fast RB19 car.
In Saudi Arabia last weekend, Sergio Perez took advantage of Verstappen's qualifying woes to make it two on the trot for the bulls, a performance that confirmed the team's comfortable position at the head of the field.
"I’ve never been a fan of being concerned with one team dominating, because if they’ve done such a good job, they deserve it," commented Sainz.
"I mean, I wish it was us. Then I would get really angry if people were concerned that we are walking over Formula 1."
So far, given Red Bull's performance margin over its rivals, all signs point to a championship fight turning into an intra-team affair, an outcome that Sainz sees as inevitable based on the bulls' unassailable technical superiority.
"Unfortunately, this is a cars’ sport more than a drivers’," he said. "We know that makes a difference more, although Red Bull has a very strong line-up, obviously.
"But if a car is really good, all the other drivers cannot do much to stay in that fight. It is the nature of Formula 1 and we’ve seen it in the past, it’s nothing new.
"The recovery from Max from 15th proves that they’re in another league."
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Sainz revealed that he wasn't holding back in Jeddah during his first stint on the medium tyre, and yet up ahead Perez continued to build his gap while Verstappen mad minced meat of his rivals as he carved through the field.
"I was honestly not leaving much on the table in the first part of the stint and they are just flying, compared to everyone," he said.
"The Mercedes and the Aston are maybe two or three-tenths today, but Red Bull, beginning of the stint half a second like in quali. And then it opens up because we deg more, even on good tarmac like here.
"For me this only confirms where we need to improve and the Red Bull is really, really dominant right now."
©Ferrari
Despite his team's performance shortfall, Sainz is confident that Ferrari's development programme will prove beneficial to the Scuderia.
"We know already our performance timings, when they are going to come, our developments," he said.
"I cannot reveal right now because it wouldn’t be the right thing for my team. But we know when they are coming, what they are targeting, and we know they should help because it’s clear the weaknesses that we have."
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