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Carlos Sainz is still able to prove he can match Nico Hulkenberg at Renault. That is the claim of Sainz's Spanish countryman Marc Gene, who is an experienced Ferrari test driver. Sainz joined Renault late last year on loan from Red Bull, but while solid has so far he has looked out-performed by his German teammate Hulkenberg.
Gene told AS newspaper: "Carlos has had a difficult start, but it's only three races in. He's done well. He's been very fast but in the key moments, in qualifying especially, he has not been able to get a great lap. He still has many races to demonstrate his potential," Gene added.
Gene was also asked about F1's other Spanish driver Fernando Alonso, whose team McLaren has struggled so far in 2018 despite switching to Renault power. "I think what McLaren needs to do to approach the level of the other teams is to improve their straight line speed," he said. "They say that for Barcelona there will be a great revolution, but the gap is significant." (GMM)
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
4 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (10)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, I think Sainz is here to stay. Mind, seeing as Sainz and Verstappen were so even at STR, is this an indication of just how strong Hulk is?
Kean
Posts: 692
I think it is. I've always been impressed by Hulk as a driver, it's his personality I have a problem with. Never quite understood why he's been overlooked by the big teams. I think this is also a testament to Perez's and Ocon's skills, since Perez beat Hulkenberg in the races and was very even with him in quali. But Perez is also overlooked by the big teams.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Same, he seems kinda like a douche. I sorta think Perez blew his chances when he was in McLaren, but its a shame that neither he or Hulk will be looked at for better seats, and Im not sure when/if Ocon will get a shot.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Its a exciting time in F1 right now, with a lot of talented drivers. Its almost a toss between Perez, Romain, Kmag, Hulk, Sainz, Ocon, and Vanddorne ( excluding the big 6 drivers).
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
It is a little surprising that Sainz is struggling so much. Maybe Hulkenberg is a bit underrated, who knows. It could also be that the car is built to Hulk's preference, which could be the reason he's keeping Sainz behind.
It's always fun to do the whole "well, X beat Y, who in turn Z, who earlier beat X when they were in Formula 2." But it's worth noting that all things are seldom even in racing, and especially F1.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I was surprised aswell, I expected them to be sorta equal. Yeah, and the X>Y>Z rarely works, because F1 isnt very straightforward to begin with.
Mr.Useless
Posts: 18
he is not struggling "SO MUCH". The difference was at most 3 tenths. Which is easily explained by the fact that Carlos is new to the team, the car and his race engineer. Do you recall what happened at merc when Hamilton joined them, whilst Rosberg was there for a bit longer? Hamilton used to say that he needed to get his brakes right. This being only 3 races into 2018 means nothing for Carlos. If, however, by the end of the season he doesn't beat Hulk, then I would concede that there may be something in Hulk that Carlos doesn't have(pace).
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
That's what I'm saying, that could very well be the explanation.
I think most people - not counting Hulkenberg's immediate family - figured that Sainz would establish himself as the team's #1 rather quickly. Thus far we've not seen that.
As you know, it doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning's winning ;-) and thus far Hulkenberg's been winning that battle.
TimberVD
Posts: 42
I dunno, I never was that impressed with Sainz at STR, he seems a very safe driver, and does get points, but doesn't have that sprinkling of special. Points wise it was quite obvious in 2015: VES:49, SAI:18. Now that he is being compared to Hulkenberg, he's not shining particularly bright either.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I agree that he hasn't shown that much improvement over the last 2 years. There are flashes of very good driving followed by others that aren't that memorable. Don't think that he's ready for Redbull no1 team.