In Italy they put Sainz at the level of Lauda and Prost

It has not been an easy task, it has taken time and above all trust, something that Carlos Sainz has been able to return in the form of a victory, the second of his career, this one in Singapore and breaking the hegemony of Max Verstappen. The race could be a turning point for Ferrari, a paradigm shift in favor of the Spaniard who has proven to have a couple of cards up his sleeve, earning the favor of critics and passionate Italian fans. In Italy they already put Sainz on par with the best.

The Italian press, always so critical and reluctant towards Carlos Sainz, so harsh with his results despite the fact that Charles Leclerc’s, with the team strategy in his favor, were not excessively superior. Media such as Gazzetta, Corriere and Tuttosport now surrender at the feet of the Spaniard after his unquestionable victory with Ferrari, comparing him to geniuses such as Nike Lauda or Alain Prost, two former members of the Italian team.

Lauda’s 14 wins with Ferrari between ’74 and ’77 (and another 10 between Brabham and McLaren) and Prost’s five in ’90 (plus another 46 between Renault, McLaren and Williams) are the perfect comparison in Italy to define this new paradigm shift with Sainz, this qualitative leap that could represent a turning point in the Italian team as already predicted in the transalpine press.

This is how it is questioned in Tuttosport, which they title, as a question “what is behind Ferrari’s tactical masterpiece” by Sainz and “why is he now the leader” after “a race based on strategy and bravery on the part of the Spaniard” dropping whether this is the turning point that Ferrari needed with respect to Charles Leclerc and him.

“Like Gerhard Berger who in 1988 at Monza put an end to Senna and Prost’s record at McLaren”, they continue to compare with other stars “but with a masterpiece of tactics, personality and resistance that recalls that of Jacques Villeneuve in 1981 at Jarama” , and they end up complimenting him for his ingenious use of the DRS: «Getting in front of a train that is more frenetic than festive, managing rhythm, turns and high notes not even a Christmas dinner. And in the end, after inventing the DRS in favor of an opponent (his friend and former teammate Norris) as a defensive weapon against the most dangerous (Russell and Hamilton’s Mercedes).

«He seems in love, with light in his eyes, the confidence of a leader, the reputation invested within a month to give the enormous red family what Leclerc was expected to give. “What has changed in this superb and disconcerting demonstration?” are the questions and answers that are also launched from the Corriere della Sera, where they also allude to the moment of the change between the Spanish and the Monegasque, a plot twist that has been gained over the Sainz asphalt.

Praise to Sainz in Italy

The praise from the Gazzetta dello Sport towards Sainz, until now unpublished, avoids comparing him even with the greats but they do not doubt that they are – now – before a different driver: «The way in which Sainz conquered Singapore underlined once again the great qualities of a ragionieri. Not in the sense of a boring driver incapable of transmitting emotions, but of a good, very good one, when necessary, in addition to stepping on the accelerator, using his head.

Paolo Ianieri, concludes in the Gazzetta, placing him “among the most intelligent drivers on the grid”, a driver with a “strong personality” who does not hesitate to speak when he considers that the strategy is wrong, pointing out that in this “he is a photocopy of his father Carlos”. Italy is already surrendering to Carlos Sainz, where they hope for a before and after in Ferrari after what they experienced in Singapore.

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