Carlos Sainz heads into this weekend’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix expecting a competitive showing from his Ferrari.

The Scuderia has been on the podium at every race since F1 returned from its mid-season break, though its last win was back at the Austrian Grand Prix in July courtesy of Charles Leclerc.

In recent races, it’s played second fiddle to Red Bull, resulting in Max Verstappen sealing the drivers’ championship at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Red Bull stands on the brink of claiming the constructors’ title, too.

Leclerc crossed the line second in Japan but was relegated to third with a post-race time penalty for cutting the chicane at the end of the final lap.

Prior to that, he was second in Singapore with Sainz third in a race won by Sergio Perez.

“I think we have a competitive car everywhere we go to, this is a fact,” Sainz said on Thursday in Austin.

“We’re fighting for nearly every pole position, wins are more tricky because for some reason.

“Red Bull, in the race, they managed to do a step that we don’t have, or that recently we don’t have as much, but we are working on that.”

Ferrari began the 2022 season strongly, Leclerc winning two of the opening three races and headed the drivers’ championship until the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, he’s since acknowledged that his hopes of the title were extinguished when he crashed out of the French Grand Prix.

That driver error came on top of operational issues within the Scuderia which saw strategic mistakes at crucial times, while reliability has also hampered the Italian team.

Even still, it’s been a positive, if trying season for Ferrari after a difficult run since 2020. It has shown itself to be a championship contender, if not quite ready to take the final step.

“We’re taking these four races to experiment a bit to see how we can be a bit more competitive in the race; how we can improve our tyre management,” Sainz explained.

“We have the next year tyres here for Friday, and it’s going to be a key part of understanding where we are lacking also on tyre management for next year to try and improve.”

While Leclerc sits a point behind Perez in third in the drivers’ championship, while Sainz is fifth, five points behind George Russell.

Overhauling the Mercedes driver is not, however, a focus for the Spaniard heading into the final four races.

“Fifth, fourth, doesn’t change my life as a racing driver,” he observed.

“I only care about obviously winning and having a good season.

“I know this year hasn’t been easy, the setback of Japan also was not ideal – made me lose even more points in this fight.

“If I can finish fourth I’ll take fourth, but I would prefer to win a race before the end of the year, even if it doesn’t mean I finish fourth.

“For us, it’s important to try and win, to get the podiums, to get the consistency,” he added.

“Obviously this would bring P4 to the table but I’m focusing more on that [race wins and consistency] than on the championship.”

The team will field Reserve Driver Robert Shwartzman in Free Practice 1 in Austin, taking the place of Charles Leclerc in his first Formula 1 race weekend appearance.

“He’s tried the 2021 car before so he’s for sure it’s going to be a bit of a surprise to suddenly jump into the 2022 [car] because they are quite a bit different,” Sainz observed.

“Also, I guess it’s a new track, so plenty of new things.

“I just hope that he does a good job for the team because obviously, when you’re a young driver, the main thing is to keep the car on track and give the information to the team that Charles is not able to give, and enjoy it.

“It’s such a cool day when you drive an FP1 in front of all the Formula 1 people and sharing the track probably with his idols from the past.

“It’s a day that I think he needs to take it as an enjoyment.”