“I’m confident in other circuits,” Carlos Sainz deems Ferrari’s Bahrain outing as a one-off and shows faith in SF-23 to deliver in Jeddah
Carlos Sainz is hopeful of having a better outing at the Jeddah Corniche Formula 1 Circuit.
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Carlos Sainz (Credits: Planet F1)
Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari F1 driver, has discussed the SF-23 ahead of the fast-approaching Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He believes that his team lagged behind in Bahrain in comparison to Red Bull because of the extreme tire wear that takes place at the circuit. He is optimistic about having a strong outing in Jeddah as the tarmac there is pretty smooth.
While Carlos Sainz finished the Bahrain GP in fourth position, he was a massive 48 seconds behind Max Verstappen‘s RB19. Moreover, Ferrari’s other star driver, Charles Leclerc, was not even able to finish the race as he bowed out with an electrical issue on lap 41 of the 57-lap pace. The Maranello-based team’s dismal outing created a lot of unrest within the team.
However, all that is in the past now, and the smooth operator has got his sights set on putting on a show. Carlos Sainz is keeping a positive mindset ahead of the upcoming event, and while talking about it, he said, “The tarmac in Jeddah is very different. The limitation is not so much at the rear. So, we’re pretty sure it’s going a bit different at other tracks.”
He further added, “Bahrain is the most extreme for [degradation] of the year so we only have one example. I’m confident in other circuits we can play a better game but for Bahrain, it was our reality.” The high degradation that Ferrari and Mercedes faced in Bahrain allowed Fernando Alonso to swoop in and get the better of both teams.
Carlos Sainz believes that tire degradation is a huge problem for Ferrari
The Ferrari F1 Team struggled a lot with tire degradation during the 2022 F1 season. However, it was hoped that the team would find a solution during the winter break. But it seems the problem is still the same as deemed by Carlos Sainz. While talking about the tire deg, Sainz said, “It’s about as bad as it was last year.“
“It’s just that the other two cars [Red Bull and Aston] for some reason found something that means they degrade half [as much].” While Carlos Sainz is not pleased with the issue of tire degradation again being a problem for Ferrari, he is curious how teams like Red Bull and Aston Martin have managed to keep the issue under check.
It is believed that while Ferrari has got tire deg issues, they also have got the fastest car when it comes to straight-line speeds. Moreover, the Jeddah Corniche Circuir is a fast-flowing track where Ferrari is being tipped to get the better of Max Verstappen and Co. because of SF-23’s superior speed.
Considering everything, Ferrari is looking in a much better position ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP. But Max Verstappen will always remain a massive threat no matter the track conditions. The Dutchman got the better of the Ferrari starlets in Bahrain, could the picture change at the end of the Saudi Arabian GP?
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)