Carlos Sainz thinks he can perform very well in the championship this weekend. Hungarian Grand Prix. After the race at Silverstone, the struggle to become the second force behind Red Bull intensified with four teams – Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren – increasingly balanced matches and regularly aiming for the podium.

“Everything is very close and we’ll see if Alpine joins the fight as well. A tenth right now can change the outcome of a weekend. Behind Red Bull, it all depends on whether the course is better suited to one team or the other. Here it will depend a lot on the wind and the temperature. Our car is very sensitive to these variations.Sainz made the analysis at the FIA ​​press conference held in Budapest.

“We have taken steps forward and I hope Hungaroring will be better for us. we must be relatively strong“He thinks of the Madrid driver who will try to get to the podium as he did when he finished third in 2021: “It would be very special to be able to dedicate a podium to my grandfather”, underlining that he was very impressed by Carlos’ recent defeat.

deferred renewal

Head of Scuderia Fred Vasseur He said his pilots needed to be renewed at Silverstone, Sainz and LeclercFor those whose contracts expire in 2024, it was not a priority at the moment. MaranelloHe focused on improving his car to return to the title fight in 2024. Carlos “fully agrees” with this assessment.

“I agree with Fred right now Ferrari has more priority than driver contracts. No time to think about what will happen“My priority is to compete with the team, I’m not worried about where I’ll be in 2025, I’m just trying to get Ferrari back to the top,” said Sainz, assuring that “I’ll start thinking about it during the winter holidays.”