Scuderia Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz admits that Formula 1's top teams are "light years" ahead of the opposition on all levels.
As he assesses his performance at the beginning of this season, the young Spaniard says he is happy with the "best start" he has enjoyed in his three years at the pinnacle of motor sport.
"My three years of experience are helping," he told the Spanish press.
"But still, it wasn't easy because half of the grid is very close together."
But Sainz admitted to some "frustration" that leading teams Ferrari and Mercedes are "light years" ahead of the rest.
"If there is something missing in Formula 1, it is that this gap is so great between the first two and the others," Sainz said in Barcelona.
"If you look at the budgets, you know that it is impossible to reach them. So I hope Liberty finds agreement among everyone so that it (the gap) can be reduced."
Sainz gave the thumbs-up to F1's new era of much faster cars however.
"If you look at the teammates in F1, the gaps between them are more noticeable, you see more mistakes in qualifying and in the race.
"We are obviously more on the limit, which makes the drivers look better," said Sainz.
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