Carlos Sainz feels "Max Verstappen can be beaten every weekend with equal car"

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Without an advantage, no one is immune to pressure.
Max Verstappen 293, Lando Norris 282, Charles Leclerc 243, Oscar Piastri 230, Carlos Sainz 190, Lewis Hamilton 189, and George Russell 184: this would be the Drivers' Championship standings from Miami onward, a table where Lando Norris would still be fully in contention for the title with two races to go. However, in the earlier races—aside from a technical retirement in Australia—Max Verstappen secured four wins that gave him enough of a cushion to claim his fourth world title with two rounds to spare.

Since Miami, Red Bull has gradually lost the advantage it once had over its rivals, at times even becoming the fourth-strongest team on the grid behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes. According to Carlos Sainz, this dynamic proves that as extraordinary a driver as Max Verstappen is, he can be beaten when his competitors have cars at the same level as his. "As much as I think Max has done an incredible job this year, the second half of the season, where eight drivers were within a tenth of each other, showed that we could all beat him week by week," Carlos Sainz said, as reported by motorsportweek.com. "He has been extremely good at dominating with a dominant car and equally good at avoiding mistakes in the second half of the season. That's what, for me, has made him the driver of the year and allowed him to win the championship. Nonetheless, the second half of the season demonstrates that when we're all on equal footing, we can compete with each other and make life difficult for one another." – the Spaniard pointed out.

According to Carlos Sainz, no one is immune to pressure, and it's easy to appear calm and "robotic" when relying on a technical advantage. "Everyone starts making mistakes when under pressure, and everyone begins complaining about their car—even to the media," Carlos Sainz added. "Whenever you don't have two or three-tenths of a margin over your closest rival or your teammate, suddenly the pressure increases, and everyone becomes human." – the future Williams driver concluded.

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