This is Carlos Sainz’s exhibition in Bahrain in reaction to Ferrari’s decision

Carlos Sainz is the great opponent of the first GP of the F1 season, except for Max Verstappen. The Spanish driver is eager to prove his worth after Ferrari’s decision not to retain his services and sign Lewis Hamilton for 2025. And in just 17 laps of the championship it is clear that we are facing a more aggressive version of the Madrid native.

The start was not impressive as Sainz started from the dirty part of the track and lost a place to ‘Checo’ Perez, but far from nervous, he stood behind the train led by Leclerc, ahead of Russell and the Mexican. On the radio he warned: “I have more rhythm than the guys in frontand”

And when he got the chance he showed it. While Charles Leclerc commented on the radio that he had a lot of braking problems, the Spaniard remained alert. Therefore, in lap 11 he entered turn 1 on the inside and although the Monegasque resisted the parallel, Sainz did not give up.

But on the first pass through the pits, while Sainz took two more laps to get in, Charles was ahead. Both had new tires but it was quickly clear that this time Carlos had more. On lap 17 he lifted his foot off the brake in the first corner and hit his teammate with a brutal ax blow.

Far from ending there, he signed a incredible overtaking on the outside of George Russell at turn 4 to take his first podium of the season. The second part of the race was more focused on speed and trying to catch Checo with the Red Bull. However, those from Milton Keynes are still a step ahead of everyone and there are tenths left at every turn to catch them.

Sainz does not want to rush to his conclusions despite this good start. “But it’s not enough, it’s not where we want to be, but I made progress compared to last year.“, he said at the end. In any case, this is a clear declaration of intentions and another sign that teams will fight for him.