Ferrari's Charles Leclerc acknowledged that his teammate Carlos Sainz was extracting more performance from the car than him in the fight against Formula One champion Red Bull. However, Leclerc expressed no concern about the situation.
Despite missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to appendicitis, Sainz, who is departing the Italian team at the end of the season to accommodate seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, trails Leclerc by just four points.
Sainz achieved podium finishes in all three races he contested and secured victory in Australia upon his return from surgery.
"I think it's as simple as he's doing a better job," Leclerc said when asked at the Chinese Grand Prix on Thursday whether Sainz was adapting better to the car than him.
"In Bahrain (the opening race), it was difficult to compare because on my side, I was facing issues, and I think it was a very strong weekend apart from that, on my side. However, in the last two races, he's just been stronger.
"It's up to me now to work, especially in the qualifying pace, which is normally a strength. I have been struggling to put the lap together.
"It's a very fine line to get it right or completely wrong on the out-lap and putting the tires in the right window, and for now, I have been struggling more than what Carlos has done.
"He's driving at a very high level, which I think is great for the team."
Leclerc said he was confident he could improve his qualifying pretty quickly.
"So I'm not worried, but obviously now I need to show that on track starting from tomorrow in qualifying," he added.
Ferrari is second in the constructors' standings, 21 points behind Red Bull, whose triple world champion Max Verstappen has won three of the four races and started them all in pole position.
Sainz finished third in Bahrain, with Leclerc fourth, and third in Japan, where Leclerc was also fourth. In Australia, Ferrari finished one-two.
Leclerc started ahead of Sainz in Bahrain, but the Spaniard outperformed his teammate in qualifying for Australia and Japan.
Leclerc said that China, returning to the calendar for the first time since 2019, should be better for Ferrari than the previous race in Japan, although he still expected Red Bull to have the upper hand.