Carlos Sainz is confident he can hold his own against his highly-rated teammate Max Verstappen. The pair both made their debuts for Toro Rosso this year, but it is only the 17-year-old Verstappen who is being compared with the sport's greats. "They say that he is the new Senna," Spaniard Sainz, 20, said during a visit this week to Rome's Universita Roma Tre.
"But it is very difficult to assess the quality of the drivers in F1 today. You can only be compared with your teammate, and Max and I are similar in terms of driving," he insisted. "Max is very strong," Sainz acknowledged, "and it is true that journalists talk a lot more about him than they about me. That puts a little more pressure on me but I have so much confidence in myself and I always think that I can beat him."
Verstappen, on the other hand, says that despite their rivalry, the rookie pair are getting along well so far. "It's going very well between Carlos and me," said the Dutchman on a visit to Zandvoort this week. "I think that's very important -- that we can work well together to improve the car."
Many insiders believe their car, the James Key-headed STR10, might even be better than the one fielded by big-brother team Red Bull Racing. But Sainz says the Faenza outfit knows it cannot compete for ever with the 'other' Red Bull team. "Their budget is 400 million, ours 100," he insisted. "Often, the first four races of a season are not indicative of what happens later on. We are aiming for fifth place," Sainz added. (GMM)
Sainz confident he can beat 'new Senna' Verstappen
- Published on 24 Apr 2015 16:34
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
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Jan 26
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Jan 27
M. Verstappen
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Jan 28
A. Antonelli
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Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
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Jan 30
L. Hamilton
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
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Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
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Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
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Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
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Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
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Grand Prix
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Spain
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Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
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Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Driver profile
- Team Red Bull Racing
- Points 3,453
- Podiums 127
- Grand Prix 235
- Country NL
- Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (28)
- Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
- Weight 70 kg
- Length 1.8 m
- 824,524 comments on Red Bull Racing
982 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Max Verstappen
Team profile
- Team name Red Bull Racing
- Base Milton Keynes, Leafield, Austria
- Liam Lawson
- Sebastian Vettel 1
- Sebastian Vettel 1
- Sebastian Vettel 1
- Sebastian Vettel 1
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Sebastian Vettel 5
- Isack Hadjar 6
- Pierre Gasly 10
- Sergio Perez 11
- Sebastian Vettel 15
- Yuki Tsunoda 22
- Daniil Kvyat 26
- Max Verstappen 33
- 898,763 comments on Red Bull Racing
- 686 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Red Bull Racing
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