Carlos Sainz aims to carry his current level of performance with Ferrari into next season and hopes to make things "a little more complicated" for Max Verstappen in 2023.
At the start of this year, Sainz was slower to get up to speed than his Scuderia teammate Charles Leclerc who won two of the first three opening races of 2022.
But gradually, the Spaniard found his footing at the wheel of Ferrari's new-generation car and was able to race on a par with Leclerc.
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By that point however, the Red Bull/Verstappen had also come into its own and overhauled Leclerc in the Drivers' standings. Thereafter, Ferrari's main rival never looked back and went on to conquer both team and drivers' titles with several races to spare.
Sainz admitted that the ease with which Verstappen has conquered his second crown has surprised, especially in light of the relative superiority displayed by Ferrari at the start of the season.
"You never expect that, especially when you have a good car at the beginning," Sainz told Car and Driver.
©Ferrari
In hindsight, Sainz wished he had hit the ground running at the outset of his 2022 campaign. But the Spaniard now aims to carry his current momentum into 2023.
"I now wish I had felt a little more comfortable at the beginning of the season, to make things a little more complicated for Max and together with Charles to fight a little more," he said.
"My goal for next year is to start at the level I am at now, which is quite decent, and to complicate things for Max.
"We have another opportunity and I fully trust that the team will create another great car like this year's, and we will learn from the mistakes made this year.
"I'm ready to fight and I'm looking forward to fighting Mercedes too, as it looks like they will join us at the front."
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