Carlos Sainz has conceded that the continuously changing pecking order "is a good thing" for Formula 1 but not for Ferrari. Ferrari is entangled in a battle for second with Mercedes and Aston Martin behind runaway leaders Red Bull, although McLaren is harbouring hopes of gate-crashing after the upturn in form. The trouble for the teams behind Red Bull is that none of them have been able to break free and mount a serious challenge to the Milton Keynes-based outfit, with each seemingly having a weekend as the closest challenger. Addressing the race for second, Sainz told media including RacingNews 365 : "It is going to be very tricky to predict and I think that is a good thing for F1. "It is not a great thing for us because we are very dependent on the wind, track conditions and the track temperature for our own performance which will leave us exposed on some weekends. "But track to track, we might be as strong as we were in Canada or Austria, and then we will go to a track like Silverstone and not be as strong. "We just need to focus on our upgrades and developments where we are weak and keep making progress."
Focusing on 2024?
As the teams behind Red Bull continue to fight for the upper hand, the championship-leading constructor can switch development focus to next year's car earlier in the season. Meanwhile, those behind cannot let up with development on the current car for fear of losing positions at the end of the season. Writing off concerns, Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc said: "I’m not particularly worried, it’s part of the game. "Whenever you have an edge in one season, then obviously the risk for the other teams is that this team is trying to take time in order to develop next year’s car. "But it’s linked, in a way. We are still mainly focused on this year’s car because we’ve got clear weaknesses and we know that we need to address those and when we will have addressed those, then it goes together: next year’s car will be much better. "What gives me confidence is that we have a very clear plan in what we want to improve. We’ve already made steps forward in the last three races. "There are many more things coming in the next races, not only in order to be in front of Mercedes and Aston but to be fighting the Red Bulls as quickly as possible. "We are on the right track."
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