Tost thinks Leclerc is several tenths faster than former pupil Sainz

Franz Tost is pleased to see that Carlos Sainz has made it to Ferrari and is performing to expectations. It earned the 27-year-old a contract extension at the start of the season. Still, Tost thinks that Sainz will have to give up on his teammate based on his speed over a full season.

"Carlos is talented and extremely hard-working," said Tost in F1 Insider his assessment of his former pupil. Between 2015 and 2017, the Austrian was Sainz's team boss for almost three full seasons at Toro Rosso. Via Renault and McLaren, Sainz has now ended up at Ferrari and there he is not doing an undeserving job.

Leclerc vs. Sainz

In his debut season, he immediately beat the highly regarded Charles Leclerc in the World Championship. In 2022, however, Leclerc is the faster driver of the two. Tost frankly admits that he thinks Leclerc has more speed in general. "He [Sainz] is performing very well at Ferrari and could be on a par with Leclerc if everything goes well. But in terms of base speed, Leclerc is two tenths faster."

Nevertheless, the difference between Leclerc and Sainz is just 22 points in the World Cup after thirteen Grands Prix. Reliability problems and strategic lapses by Leclerc in particular have ensured that the gap is not tens of points larger.