F1 | Massa on the Sainz-Leclerc challenge: "It will be difficult for Carlos to recreate the situation of 2021"

In a long chat given to the columns of "Il Corriere dello Sport", Felipe Massa he returned to talk about the possible challenge between Carlos Sainz e Charles Leclerc inside the Ferrari garage, specifying that it will be difficult for the former to return to a situation similar to that recorded in 2021.

In the year in question, in fact, the Spaniard exploited the partial lack of competitiveness of the SF21 to align himself with the potential expressed by the Monegasque up until the past seasons. An at times sensational situation which, however, was not repeated in 2022, given that the quality of the F1-75 project allowed Leclerc not only to tame his teammate, but also to compete for the world title with Max Verstappen for almost half a season .

“Carlos Sainz was the best in his first year at Ferrari, but the car was not competitive,” said the Brazilian. “In 2022, when the car proved to be top-notch, Charles came out with the results we all saw. It will be difficult for Carlos to return to a situation similar to that of 2021 if the Monegasque continues to keep the same pace. Leclerc, for me, is one of the greats in Formula 1. A key man like Max Verstappen in Red Bull or Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes."