Carlos Sainz insists he does not regret signing for Ferrari for 2021 and beyond.
Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos said this week that given the Maranello team’s current lack of pace, Spaniard Sainz could be "the first" ever driver who isn’t "happy with a Ferrari contract".
Sainz said in Hungary: "I’m a little surprised by how many people are asking me if I regret it.
"I don’t regret it in any way," he told Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo.
"I think you understand why, but there are many who don’t understand F1 so much that they wonder why I would go from McLaren to Ferrari at the moment.
"Ask Racing Point how much they have improved from one year to the next. Or how Ferrari has gotten worse from one year to the next. F1 is unpredictable," Sainz said.
"It’s amazing how one floor, one engine, everything in an F1 car can suddenly make you much more competitive. I am quite sure that Ferrari haven’t forgotten how to make fast cars."
He thinks Ferrari’s current struggle could simply be a case of the Italian team trying too hard to catch up.
"There is a team called Mercedes that does things so well that the others have to take risks to catch and overtake them, and it’s difficult," said Sainz.
"Sometimes you take risks and it doesn’t work out, but in Formula 1 sometimes it’s necessary to take them.
"It actually motivates me a lot to go to a team that is not going through its best moment, because once things start to go better, that’s what can motivate you the most," he added.