Sainz wants to see 'a more human-dependent' F1

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Carlos Sainz says that he hopes that Formula 1's impending rules and regulations overhaul for 2022 will put drivers back at the heart of the sport.

Coming off the back of two strong seasons with McLaren, Sainz is heading off to Ferrari to start a new chapter alongside Charles Leclerc.

But the team is unlikely to be challenging for victories let alone titles next season given the superiority of Mercedes and Red Bull, and Sainz says this illustrates the sport's biggest problem.

“What I wish is that Formula 1 in the future has a closer grid in order to allow the driver to create more of a difference,” he told Motorsport.com.

Read also: McLaren 'family atmosphere' boosted Sainz confidence - Brown

“As you arrive to F1, you very quickly realise it's very difficult to beat any guy who has a car that is three tenths quicker than you," he explained.

"As a driver, you're fighting for the last two tenths with your teammate. That's been the case with all my team mates - you're just two tenths up, or two tenths down.

“But then when someone out-qualifies you by 1.5s, then you know that you are not really competing with him. I wish that we can close the group up together."

©Ferrari

That's certainly the aim of F1's latest regulations, originally due to be introduced in 2021 but postponed by a year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sainz agreed that F1 bosses including director of motorsports Ross Brawn together with the FIA "have done a very good job" in coming up with the new rules.

"Hopefully that happens and the sport becomes a bit more human-dependent in terms of driving, and less machinery-dependent.

"I think the sport can be a lot closer, a lot more fun. That will create a greater audience, and I think it will be better for everyone."

He's not alone in hoping that the new rules shake things up. Lewis Hamilton admitted that current downforce levels had made the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi "a boring race to watch".

Hamilton explained that as soon as a car got within three seconds of the driver ahead, it lost grip: "You're just sliding around and you’re in turbulence the whole time."

"I really hope that what Ross has proposed really makes a difference," he added.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.