Carlos-Sainz-Spanish-GP-sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Celebrated English poet William Blake said a lot many things, but among the ones that have truly stood the test of time reads as follows, "When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite!"

But if one were to borrow a leaf from Blake's grandiose philosophy and place it in the firmament of Formula 1, then perhaps it would augur a lesson for none other than Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari.

Maybe, it would read something like this: "If Sainz were to open the doors of perception, he'd realize his Ferrari isn't trickier than that of Leclerc's; that, the possibilities of scoring are infinite."

One of the instant reactions that emerged from the aftermath of the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying came from Sainz, who began the race from third on the grid, exclaimed, "I find this year's car trickier than the last year and perhaps even more pointier and snappier."

It wasn't a complaint. Rather, just what the Spaniard truly felt.

Yet, what he must realize is that using - by and large - the same car set up, Charles Leclerc has been scoring points dominantly.

Not that Sainz cannot; he himself drove his Ferrari up to fourth at the just concluded Spanish Grand Prix, where there came a moment whereupon having ventured rather erroneously into the gravel, Sainz nosedived to fifth and saw Russell and Perez waltzing ahead.

Having been in that position and finally finishing his home race event ahead of none other than Lewis Hamilton, who's won at Spain on consecutive occasions, was no mean feat.

On a day where one Ferrari found itself running into an unmitigated disaster and the other finishing in points, twelve of those, Carlos Sainz didn't have a terrible day in Spain.

But given the fact that Carlos Sainz is a driver who'd never settle for anything less than a finish in the top three and has, to his strength, a fighting fast machine to do it, can the Spaniard be truly happy?

Surely, what Leclerc, the man leading Ferrari's point scoring spree so far, faced in Spain is what Sainz has been no stranger to: DNFs.

Thus far, with six races rendered complete, Sainz has had two DNFs and three podium finishes, one each at Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami.

But while there are flashes of speed and the quintessential effort in tire management, how long can Sainz function without a race win?

That's when he has the talent, capability and the car to do so?

While a fourth in any race doesn't signal a shoddy job, but when it's a race result against the name of Formula 1's Smooth Operator, such a result is going to sting somewhat.

A P4 on a day where only one Ferrari is in the business of point scoring is akin to a bandage that hides the hurt sustained by a lack of performance. But ideally speaking, for someone who had the front seat view to jangle the two cars lined up ahead at the very start and play a spoilsport, a fourth-place finish in the end is nothing to shout about.

So far, from what we've seen is a lack of performance from the very man, who in 2021, his debut year, seemed visibly at home and in the 'driver's seat', literally speaking, when it came to the business of point scoring for Ferrari.

If it makes any sense, then Carlos Sainz needs to find the Carlos Sainz of 2021, who brought home more podiums and, therefore, points than Leclerc, the more experienced of the Maranello duo.

And quite frankly, the need to do that is a bit urgent now.

For starters, Sainz, still without a win in his career, would not want to play catch up to his teammate. Now is the ideal chance to claim a win and why just a solitary win, why not go for multiple wins? The S F1-75 might not be a rip-roaring beast, but is still the fastest or very nearly the fastest speedster on the grid.

Importantly, Carlos Sainz needs to seize up the initiative and find the extra yard of pace starting from the much-important Saturdays that can help him usurp the two men he's been found struggling against: Leclerc and Verstappen.

Such a thing, such as a pole or two in the imminent future, should it happen, will augur well for the sake of his own confidence.

Moreover, what can play beautifully into his hands is that unlike Red Bull, who may not have made it much public but still function on an understanding of team orders, there's nothing of that sort-so far-at Ferrari.

So why not open the doors of such perception and realize that the chances of scoring are infinite?

Vamos, Carlos! You can do it.