Carlos Sainz opens up about his confidence in Ferrari after Laurent Mekies’ departure

Carlos Sainz spoke on his faith in Ferrari after the exit of Laurent Mekies.

Carlos Sainz opens up about his confidence in Ferrari after Laurent Mekies’ departure

Carlos Sainz (image via Firstsportz), Laurent Mekies (image via Speedcafe.com)

Scuderia Ferrari has had a rough start to the 2023 F1 season. The Italian team fell behind its rivals, such as Aston Martin and Mercedes in the early races. Maranello has now witnessed the departure of its Sporting Director, Laurent Mekies, who will serve as Team Principal of AlphaTauri in 2024. However, despite the troublesome 2023 season, Carlos Sainz has confidence in the Prancing Horse.

Sainz made it clear that he has complete faith in Maranello despite the exit of key personnel, including Mekies in recent times. The Spanish driver was confident that the organizational structure at Ferrari was already leading to gains on next year’s car. He told the media in Spa, “I am 100% sure that the structure we have now is working well for the development of next year’s car [following the departure of David Sanchez, Laurent Mekies, etc].”

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Carlos Sainz praised Team Principal Fred Vasseur‘s leadership as the Spanish driver believed that Vasseur had done a good job in making the targets clear for all the personnel in Maranello. This has further helped the team’s efforts in the wind tunnel for 2024. Sainz continued, “I also feel like Fred [Vasseur] is doing the best he can to reinforce the team and the people we have clear targets in mind. We have clear targets that we are developing in the wind tunnel.”

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Carlos Sainz is confident Ferrari will make progress in 2024

Carlos Sainz, 2023 British GP (image via Scuderia Ferrari Fans)
Carlos Sainz, 2023 British GP (image via Scuderia Ferrari Fans)

The 28-year-old reaffirmed that the Scuderia is on course to make progress in 2024, with rapid development already underway. Although, Sainz was cautious over Ferrari’s position in the pecking order as rivals were also making strides. The Spanish driver was adamant that the Italian team must continue to focus on its efforts to get results.

The Scuderia has been making progress this season. Ferrari has finally abandoned its own sidepod design concept in favor of one that resembles the sidepods of the Red Bull RB-19. The Italian team achieved a single pole position this season when Charles Leclerc out-qualified Max Verstappen at the Azerbaijan GP. However, it remains to be seen how things pan out for the rest of the season.

Carlos Sainz has reinstated his faith in Ferrari despite the recent exit of Laurent Mekies. The Spanish driver was convinced that the Italian team is heading in the right direction under the leadership of team boss Fred Vasseur. However, there is a lot of work left to be done back at Maranello if the Prancing Horse truly wants to win in F1 again.

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