F1 News
'I want to continue to get closer to the drivers in front'
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
McLaren driver Carlos Sainz has enjoyed a very fruitful campaign with his new team so far, with the Spaniard leading the midfield in both championships, and the former Toro Rosso and Renault driver has said to have the ambition to get closer to the top three teams with McLaren.
His P6-finish in France was the latest proof of both how good McLaren's MCL34 has developed, as well as how consistently great Sainz himself has been in the car. Having qualified just behind teammate Lando Norris, Sainz overtook the teenager at the start and never looked back, although Norris was very unlucky with mechanical issues later in the race.
Sitting in a bit of a no man's land in the standings between the top three teams and the rest of midfield (11 points behind Pierre Gasly in P6 and seven points clear of Kimi Raikkonen in P8), Sainz explained he has the ambition to close the gap in front of him, rather than 'just' keeping the midfield behind him.
"We were the fourth quickest car throughout the whole weekend [in France] and my ambition is for us to keep getting closer to the teams ahead of us and keep the midfield behind," the Madrid-born Sainz told AS.
"It's not easy, but we're working in the right direction we need to keep pushing in each race."
Although McLaren did out-qualify both a Red Bull and a Ferrari, the gap between the Woking-based team and the 'Big Three' teams ahead is still quite significant. Red Bull, who currently sit in third, have 137 points after eight races, 97 more than McLaren. However, if France is anything to go by, the British side could be competitive with the Bulls, if they can keep the current form up.