Carlos Sainz has opened up about the intense pressure that typically surrounds the teammates of Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing — a level of scrutiny and expectation that the Spanish Formula 1 driver believes he is fully capable of handling.
At this stage in the 2025 Formula 1 season, with the halfway mark of the championship already behind us, Red Bull Racing currently sits in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship standings, with a total of 172 points. Notably, the vast majority of those points have been scored by Max Verstappen alone.
The team based in Milton Keynes continues to struggle in finding a stable and competitive second driver. Yuki Tsunoda, who took over the seat previously occupied by Liam Lawson, has so far failed to meet expectations and has not demonstrated the level of performance the team had initially hoped for.
However, Yuki Tsunoda is not the only one who has failed to shine alongside the dominant Dutch driver. Since Max Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull Racing team at the start of the 2016 Formula 1 season, every teammate who has partnered with him has eventually struggled under the pressure and failed to perform at the desired level — with the only exception being Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo during their time together from 2016 to 2018.
Despite this long-standing trend of Verstappen’s teammates falling short, Carlos Sainz — who was once Verstappen’s teammate during their time at Scuderia Toro Rosso — has expressed confidence that he would be able to withstand the pressure that comes with racing in the second Red Bull seat.
Carlos Sainz’s comments
Carlos Sainz, currently without a confirmed seat for the 2026 Formula 1 season, shared his perspective during an appearance on the High Performance podcast.
“I believe everyone is currently going through a really difficult time when they’re teammates with Max Verstappen,” said the Spanish driver. “But I can honestly say that, back when I was Max’s teammate, I didn’t experience that kind of difficulty. Of course, I was incredibly surprised at how fast he was and at what an extraordinary driver he is. He’s probably going to become one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history — if he isn’t already considered one.”
Carlos Sainz then reflected on his experience during the 2015 and 2016 Formula 1 seasons at Scuderia Toro Rosso, where he raced alongside a very young Max Verstappen.
“But that year when I was teammates with Max at Toro Rosso gave me the confidence of knowing that I can compete against anyone,” added Sainz. “I’ve been teammates with Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris, with Nico Hülkenberg. I think I’ve raced alongside some incredibly fast drivers — probably among the best on the grid — and now also with Alexander Albon, who is incredibly quick.”
According to the Spanish driver, those experiences have only further fuelled his desire to measure himself against the best drivers in the sport.
“All of that just keeps motivating me to keep wanting to go up against the top drivers,” he said. “I don’t think, ‘No, I don’t want to do it,’ because I know I can do it. And I know I’ve already been successful in the past.”
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