After winning two of the first three Formula 1 races in 2022, Ferrari has seen Red Bull dominate the last six rounds, with five wins for Max Verstappen and one for Sergio Pérez. At the Canadian Grand Prix last Sunday, Carlos Sainz came close to his first victory in the category, but was unable to overtake Verstappen in the closing laps.

The pace of the Spaniard, constantly faster than his teammate, Charles Leclerc, during the race did not surprise Ferrari. Mattia Binotto, head of the Italian team, said that Sainz's performance in free practice on Friday already indicated a close contest with Red Bull.

"If you look at the race simulations on Friday, Carlos [Sainz] was very strong. We were very close to Red Bull, so we knew we could fight. We had no idea how close it would be, but it wasn't a big surprise. Carlos is gaining confidence with the car. He is driving faster and faster, and it's good to see that he was as fast as, if not faster than, Max [Verstappen]," Binotto said after the race in Montreal.

Binotto believes that qualifying hurt Sainz (Photo: Ferrari)

Carlos started the season making mistakes that hurt Ferrari, especially the abandonment in Australia. Even though Mattia sees the Spaniard more confident and used to the car, the Ferrari boss warns: you need to have a perfect whole weekend to be able to beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

"I think to win such a close battle against Red Bull and Max, you need to have a perfect whole weekend. If he had any fault, it was that maybe he wasn't perfect in qualifying and that ended up costing him a little bit. Being in front and being chasing are certainly different situations," analyzed the Italian manager.

"Race by race he is gaining confidence and his driving is improving. He is more relaxed and I am sure he will improve in the next races. It is important for us, as a team, to be able to count on him," Binotto concluded.

Formula 1 returns on July 3 for the British GP at Silverstone.

Ferrari sees need for "perfect weekend" to beat Verstappen