Carlos Sainz has his work cut out with the entry of new team principal Fred Vasseur at Ferrari.
While Sainz enjoyed a positive relationship with outgoing Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, it has been reported that the new man in-charge of operations is already a big fan of Charles Leclerc.
Vasseur and Leclerc share a great working relationship ever since Leclerc’s entry into the sport at Sauber.
It is believed that Vasseur is convinced about Leclerc’s talent and has already made up his mind over the fact that he will serve as the team’s ‘number 1’ driver.
Sainz knows he has some work to do in order to impress Vasseur, but spoke about his admiration for his new boss.
“It [Ferrari getting Vasseur] is a change that we hope will be for the better, whenever someone new arrives there is extra motivation to want to do well for him and for the team to take another step forward, you have to give him time,” he said.
Sainz will be keen to win over Vasseur’s trust as early as he can, but it is worth noting that he has already worked with him during his Renault days.
Sainz put in solid performances through the second half of the 2022 season following a slow start to the campaign.
Carlos Sainz has run close to Leclerc in his 2 years at the Scuderia. But the major issue for Sainz is a rough start to the season as we saw in 2022.
The Spaniard will need to ensure that he starts off the season in much better fashion this time around with a new man at the helm.
While ensuring that he stays at par with Leclerc if not ahead, he also has to make sure he maintains the team dynamic and doesn’t end up causing damage or coming in the way of his teammate.
After all, he needs to make sure that Ferrari also doesn’t end up losing out due to internal competition and desire to impress from either driver.