Since returning from the appendix surgery that ruled him out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sainz has outqualified Leclerc in both Australia and Japan, and won the Melbourne race from second on the grid.
Leclerc has also finished behind his team-mate in both races, placing as runner-up at the Australian Grand Prix and finishing fourth behind the podium-finishing Sainz at Suzuka.
Asked if it was the case that Sainz had adapted to Ferrari's 2024 machinery more quickly within the opening races, Leclerc stated that his team-mate had simply been performing at a higher level in the most recent two races.
"I think it's as simple as he's doing a better job. I think in Bahrain, it's difficult to compare because on my side I was facing issues and I think it was a very strong weekend apart from that," Leclerc explained.
"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've 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 tyres in the right window.
"For now, I have been struggling more than what Carlos has done and he's driving at a very high level. I have been working a lot on that. And normally when I work on points, I'm quite confident on improving pretty quickly.
"I'm not worried, but obviously now I need to show that on track - starting from tomorrow in qualifying."
Source: Autosport