Carlos Sainz makes 2022 prediction as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen prepare for battle
F1: Sainz says Ferrari move 'changed everything'
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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has made his world title prediction for the 2022 season, as last year’s protagonists, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, prepare to do battle again. The Prancing Horse will certainly have their own lofty ambitions for the year ahead, with drastic regulation changes offering hope to those who have previously been off the pace.
Hamilton and Verstappen could hardly get away from each other in the drivers’ standings last season.
And it ultimately came down to the final lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi, when the Dutchman prevailed in a controversial bumper-to-bumper battle which was essentially set up by FIA race director Michael Masi.
Flying under the radar, Sainz snuck home in third at Yas Marina to cement fifth overall in the Championship, finishing as the highest-placed non-Mercedes or Red Bull driver.
The Spaniard drew plaudits for edging ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was tipped by many to be the best of the rest, on the season’s final weekend.
Not many expected Sainz to out-score his Ferrari team-mate, Charles Leclerc, either, as the Monegasque finished two places behind in seventh.
But the 27-year-old reluctantly remained loyal to his partner in crime when asked who, apart from himself, he would back to win the world title in 2022.
“Excluding me? I do not know,” Sainz told Corriere Della Sera.
“I say Charles for the sake of Ferrari, but I would like to say Sainz.”
While both Ferrari drivers were a fair way off the pace last year, significant regulation changes threaten to shuffle the pack for the upcoming season.
Car development, and how quickly teams can set about it, are tipped by many to play a crucial role when it comes to who could steal an early march on proceedings.
The Prancing Horse will certainly hope that they can lead the way in that department, and put an end to Mercedes and Red Bull dominance in the process.
According to former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, Sainz even surprised many in the Ferrari garage by out-scoring Leclerc last season, and he has fired a warning to his doubters regarding what is to come this year.
“Anyone who understands this sport, anyone who has worked with me knows that I am not [an outsider] at all,” he added.
“When [Ferrari boss] Mattia Binotto called me to Ferrari he knew I could do a good job, which I know is [to be] very fast.
“Those who think that my level is not very high do not pay attention because they do not know F1.”
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