Sainz has his sights set on next podium: "We are proud of the progress"

He was particularly disappointed with Saturday's qualifying, where teammate Charles Leclerc' s crash forced him to abandon his attempt at the fastest time. Sainz was convinced he could have been on pole, and perhaps won the race.

What does Sainz need for another podium with Ferrari?

The mixed feelings are compounded by the expectation that Ferrari can't make a habit of the good result for now "It doesn't mean we can fight for pole or the podium with Mercedes and Red Bull now," he said in a conversation with the Spanish branch of Motorsport.com. "I think they are still ahead of us. This weekend is a bit hard to digest because you don't know when the next opportunity will present itself, but we are proud of the progress we have made."

Still, Sainz is looking ahead to the Grands Prix where he might be able to fight for his next podium, but according to him, this can only be done at certain circuits. "The answer is simple: look at which circuit is most like Monaco. There aren't many, probably not even the circuits you think of," said the Spaniard, who says he does see opportunities in Hungary.