Sainz: Leclerc one of the greatest if not the greatest talent in F1
F1 NewsThursday, 17 June 2021 at 12:14
Carlos Sainz has hailed Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc as one of the greatest driving talents in Formula 1 at this moment.
The Spaniard has been in the same car as Leclerc for the opening six races of the 2021 campaign following his off-season move from McLaren, and has clearly been impressed with the speed and work ethic of the Monegasque driver.
Against expectations, Leclerc already has two pole positions to his name this season and sits fifth in the drivers' championship, ahead of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.
Sainz meanwhile has had a respectable start to life with the Scuderia, securing a podium at the Monaco Grand Prix and scoring points in all but one of his outings.
Looking ahead to the French Grand Prix, Sainz said that testing himself against Leclerc was a key reason he chose to join Ferrari.
"If you want to test your qualifying speed against anyone, it is against Charles Leclerc," he told the BBC. "I think he is the best qualifier on the grid.
"He is one of the greatest if not the greatest talent in Formula 1 now, and I am actually getting to learn now why he is performing at such a high level.
"It is not only speed. He also has a very good work ethic, he is very good at team building, he has a lot of strengths that make him such a strong driver. I am loving the challenge, to be honest, because I know there is no one better than him probably as a single lap with a Ferrari Formula 1 car."
Asked whether he felt Leclerc was better than Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen over one lap, Sainz clarified: "I wouldn't say Formula 1. I don't know Lewis. I know Max, I know Lando.
"I would say right now if you put any driver in a Ferrari car, it will be difficult to out-qualify Charles, because he has that three years' experience, he knows exactly how to pull out a lap in Q3 with this car, he knows exactly what the car does and he has the talent to extract that performance with a Ferrari.
"Then, if you want to go and beat Max in the Red Bull it would be very complicated, and Lewis in the Mercedes and Lando in the McLaren - guys that are performing at their best with a car because they have the experience with that car."
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