Carlos Sainz asserts Ferrari requires an ‘upgrade’ to match Red Bull despite Australian GP triumph

Ferrari managed an extremely strong outing with both its drivers at the Albert Park F1 circuit.

Carlos Sainz asserts Ferrari requires an ‘upgrade’ to match Red Bull despite Australian GP triumph

Carlos Sainz (via IMAGO).

The Ferrari F1 team had a memorable outing during the Australian Grand Prix weekend. The outfit managed a 1-2 finish and was easily the superior car in comparison to the Red Bulls RB20. But despite this, Carlos Sainz believes Ferrari requires an upgrade to keep matching the Austrian team.

The Max Verstappen-led Red Bull F1 team had a surprisingly disappointing outing around the Albert Park F1 circuit. However, they are still the pace-setters at the front end of the grid.

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Carlos Sainz is well aware of this fact and thus, expects his team to come up with a major upgrade for the SF-24.

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Our car worked really well this weekend. But it's going to be tough to keep it up there in every track until we bring an upgrade to close that gap that we saw in Bahrain and Jeddah. But around Australia, from lap one, it felt like a race-winning car. And even if Red Bull were also quick and were on pole, that [1min15.915sec pole lap time] in quali wasn't out of reach for us.
Carlos Sainz said in an interview with Autosport

The 29-year-old has made it quite clear that unless Ferrari comes up with a strong upgrade for its SF-24, it won’t be possible for him and Charles Leclerc to keep fighting the mighty Bulls. Moreover, to put things into perspective, Sainz has talked about the struggles Ferrari had in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Carlos Sainz’ take on Max Verstappen’s woes in Australia

While Carlos Sainz is expecting Ferrari to come up with an upgrade soon, the Spaniard recently took the time to talk about the struggles Max Verstappen had ahead of him in Australia. Just after the first few laps, Sainz overtook the 26-year-old.

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz (via IMAGO)

Verstappen retired from the Australian GP on lap four of the 58-lap event.

He lost the car into Turn 3 and there was my chance to get close and attempt an overtake. And then as soon as he was behind, I think he started struggling with the brakes and that was it for him. A pity because we would have had, I think, a very good fight for P1.
Carlos sainz said in the same interview

After the third round of the 2024 F1 season, the gap between Ferrari and Red Bull is only four points in the Constructors Championship. Moreover, the same is the case in the Drivers Championship with Charles Leclerc four points behind Verstappen. Keeping everything in view, next week’s Japanese GP weekend, will be a fascinating watch.

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