F1: Carlos Sainz responds to some of the criticism he's faced this year

Carlos Sainz has offered his response to some of the criticism he has faced this year in Formula 1.

The Spaniard was not able to ever really get into the title fight this season, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc the only two drivers who seemed like they could take the fight to Max Verstappen at points this year.

Ultimately, they fell short as well with Max and the RB18 forming a fine partnership and it’ll be up to his team-mate and the Ferrari drivers, as well as Mercedes, to try and raise their game for 2023.

For Sainz, the season has seen some highs like his first-ever F1 win at the British Grand Prix but also some lows, with reliability issues rearing their head on more than one occasion and a few mistakes taking place as well.

Some suggested that he should be closer to Leclerc than he was at the start of the year, too, but as the campaign has worn on Sainz has got a better handle of the Ferrari, after admitting himself at the start of the campaign he wasn't quite understanding the way the new Prancing Horse needed to be driven.

Indeed, a season of twists and turns for Sainz and he has responded to some of the criticism he has faced, admitting that he has been frustrated by it at times.

"I can understand that after the first few races, Charles was clearly one step ahead in both qualifying and race pace," he told the Spanish newspaper AS.

"But in the middle of the season I improved a lot. I started getting into the fight more and it was kind of frustrating in a way because it seemed like some people didn't want me there.

"I was criticised for not being there, and when I started being there, some wondered what I was doing up front and thought I should let Charles win everything.

"It was frustrating, especially from