Ferrari drivers confident of toppling Max Verstappen at Dutchman's home race

Carlos Sainz said Ferrari's form is not as bad as reported by media, and he feels they will be fighting for pole and the victory at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

Red Bull is dominating the constructors' and driver' championship, with Max Verstappen having won nine of the 14 races and sitting 93 points clear at the top ahead of teammate Sergio Perez. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Sainz are third and fourth, respectively, with eight races remaining.

What makes the task so tough of making an impression on the Red Bull dominance this upcoming weekend is that it's Verstappen's home race, plus he won there last year in front of his Orange Army of fans.

But Sainz believes Ferrari can challenge for honours at the fast Zandvoort track.

"I don't think we are as bad as it seems," said Sainz. "And I'm pretty sure that we can be back on from this weekend and be fighting again for pole and win.

"They've been raising the bar a bit, race by race, but it doesn't seem too far away ago when in Austria we outraced them by quite a big margin, and in France, it was me passing the Red Bull of Perez coming from 20th (place).

"And that was only three races ago. So, I don't believe they've improved so much as they did in Spa," Sainz added.

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Ferrari for the win?

Zandvoort should suit Ferrari because it's a comparatively short layout with plenty of turns, unlike Spa, which was dominated by the Red Bull car being the Championship's longest track and one of the fastest.

Sainz added that he feels the Dutch circuit is ideally suited to their car and setup and did not see Red Bull dominating like the previous weekend in Belgium. "Maybe I'm just being too