Charles Leclerc one of the greatest talents in F1 right now, says Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz

Spanish driver Carlos Sainz heaped on the praise for his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc on Thursday. The Spaniard said that his teammate was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, driving talents in Formula 1 (F1) at the moment. Leclerc has already had two podium finishes this season and sits at a strong fifth position on the driver’s championship table, ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. The Spanish driver has clearly been impressed with Leclerc’s speed, his skill behind the wheel, and his work ethic this season so far. His comments come ahead of the much-awaited French Grand Prix (GP). Sainz also said that the Frenchman was the best qualifier on the grid.

Sainz will also have a lot to prove at the French GP. This is the Spaniard’s first season with Ferrari. He used to be part of the McLaren F1 team and secured a move to the prancing horse in the off-season. He mentioned that one of the main reasons behind him joining Ferrari was to test himself against Leclerc.

“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,” he added. “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.”

BETTER THAN HAMILTON AND VERSTAPPEN?

When asked whether he felt Leclerc was a better driver than the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the Spaniard said that the Frenchman would give any driver a run for his money in a Ferrari F1 car.

“I wouldn’t say Formula 1. I don’t know Lewis. I know Max, I know Lando,” Sainz said. “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,” he added.

Sainz acknowledged that it would be a highly difficult task to beat the aforementioned drivers in their respective teams’ cars. He said that those drivers are the ones who perform exceptionally well in their respective cars because they have a lot of experience driving them.

“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,” he concluded.