Sainz surprised by “amazing” Red Bull

Carlos Sainz believes the 2016 Red Bull car is as quick as Mercedes through corners, but suffers from a lack of power down the straight.

The former world champions gave made a positive start to the new season and have clearly taken a step forward from last year.

However, this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix is unlikely to suit them due to the long straight which requires engine power, but Toro Rosso driver Sainz is happy with their progress.

"It shows Red Bull is an amazing car,” he told magazine Autosport.

"We've been asked many times about fighting Red Bull, and obviously we want to fight them, but we need to keep in mind it is one of the best, if not the best chassis on the grid.

"The engine this year doesn't look that bad any more. They are as quick as us on the straights, so definitely Red Bull will be very tough for us in the coming races.

"We can see Ricciardo's data on the GPS and everything. We can see it in the medium and low-speed corners.

"They are really quick - as quick as Mercedes, if not more.

"So it's very difficult to fight with them. It's a very high standard.

"You also see the budget they have compared to us, it's on a different planet, in a different league.

"We shouldn't look too much at them anymore I don't think, at least on the kind of circuit as in Bahrain.

"Hopefully we can keep in touch with Force India and Williams, especially at circuits that will be a bit more in our favour."

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