Carlos Sainz claims Ferrari ‘can only fight’ with the Lewis Hamilton-led ‘Mercedes’ at Austrian GP 

Carlos Sainz reported issues with the SF-24 during the qualifying runs on Saturday in Speilberg.

Carlos Sainz claims Ferrari ‘can only fight’ with the Lewis Hamilton-led ‘Mercedes’ at Austrian GP 

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (via IMAGO)

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz admitted that his team was a step behind the likes of McLaren and Red Bull in Austria, who were dominant across the Red Bull Ring on Saturday. Sainz then went on to claim that the Maranello-based outfit could realistically compete only with the Lewis Hamilton-led Mercedes team in the upcoming 71-lap race.

Mercedes has shown a rising trend in their performances since a new front wing upgrade was introduced to the W15 in Monaco. But coincidentally, on the other hand, Ferrari has endured a poor spell since the team’s heroics in Monaco as well and is currently hanging on to the title race by a thread.

YouTube video

Carlos Sainz assessed that the Maranello-based outfit faced major problems with bouncing around the high-speed corners of Spielberg to which the team can’t find an immediate solution. As a result of these issues, Ferrari now starts P4 and P6 sandwiched between Mercedes who charted lap times as good as P3 and P5.

FS Video
The changes we made between Sprint and Qualifying have made the car faster but also a bit more difficult to drive. Now we are a bit more on the limit, so much so that it was very complicated to put together a lap. It seems that we are definitely a step behind Red Bull and McLaren, and I think we can only fight with Mercedes in the race.
Carlos Sainz via formu1a.uno

Lewis Hamilton has also not been a good performer for Mercedes this season, with his teammate George Russell starting on the second row in the Austrian race. But regardless of the past problems and issues, the race will surely prove to be an exciting one as fans will witness the two silver arrows battle the Reds for the top positions in Spielberg.

George Russell reveals plans ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix

George Russell starts P3 for the race in Spielberg behind Red Bull and McLaren, which has been a regular scheme for the majority of the 2024 season. Russell has therefore opened up about his approach, in an attempt to maximize his outcome.

George Russell
George Russell (Via: Imago)
I think it’s a bit more challenging here. I think these guys always get their elbows out. So maybe this time it’s, you know, sit back and watch it all take place. But I think, you know, last week I lost a lot of time battling with Lando and probably focused too much on the guys ahead of me and ultimately that cost me the position to Lewis and almost to Charles as well.
George Russell via Crash

Russell has claimed that the key to a good race for the Silver Arrows would be to not rush into an opening tussle with Red Bull and McLaren and to let the two teams battle it out at the beginning. The 26-year-old has clarified that his impatience during the opening stages was the main reason for an unsatisfactory finish last week in Barcelona, which is what he is looking to avoid.

Mercedes is currently a few-tenths off of the pace as compared to McLaren and Red Bull but will have ample opportunities during the Austrian Grand Prix to overtake the two around the fast-paced Red Bull Ring. A win for the Silver Arrows will be their first of the season and will significantly boost their 2024 title chances.

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