Sainz and Leclerc vow to fight for Ferrari in the remaining races
On the back of Ferrari's impressive showing at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz insist that the Scuderia has a realistic chance to fight for the constructors' title, but they have acknowledged that McLaren might be too strong to beat in the remaining four races.
Carlos Sainz displayed impressive pace to secure pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, but he was picked off down to Turn 1, losing the first spot to reigning champion Max Verstappen.
After a safety car period brought out by RB driver Yuki Tsunoda, the Spaniard fought back against Verstappen to reclaim the lead. From there, he led all the way to the flag for his fourth career win and first in Mexico.
Ferrari one-three finish at the Mexican Grand saw the Scuderia overtake Red Bull in the constructors' championship and close in on the leading McLaren to just 29 points.
Reflecting on his emotional victory in front of the passionate Mexican crowd, Sainz said that he and his team-mate Charles Leclerc will work hard to win the title for Ferrari, but the Spaniard has warned that McLaren is still the quickest car.
"I think we both believe it is possible and we are actually talking about it more and more often now. We pump each other up a bit, knowing that there's a chance and we are like, ‘yeah, come on’. You know, we have a good relationship and I think we both know there is a chance and we both know we are in a good moment in our driving, the way we're driving.
"And yeah, I think one of the keys is going to be consistency and having the two drivers always up there. I think this weekend, We did a really good job on that on a tricky track where you could see Q1 and Q2 was a bit of chaos and anything could go right or wrong.
"So we just need to keep ourselves in that fight. And as Charles said, don't get obsessed with it because it's not like it depends only on us. We also, given how fast McLaren is, depend a bit on them. But yeah, we're going to keep doing the best we can and keep pumping each other up to win it.
After Ferrari's impressive results in Texas and Mexico City, his team-mate Charles Leclerc claimed that the constructors' title is a realistic target, but the Scuderia will need the other to "do something wrong."
"Of course it has to be our target, because we don't have to think about it every day. And I think the best way to achieve it is by just focusing on our own self and trying to maximise the package of our car, which is what we have done since two weekends. But yeah, the Constructors’ now is realistically possible.
"And it relies on us doing well more than others doing something wrong, which I've often said is probably the case for the Drivers' Championship.
"For the Drivers’ Championship I need to do everything right and I need a lot of bad luck to happen elsewhere. So the Constructors’ is definitely our main target and if we continue in that form it's a realistic one."