Carlos Sainz predicts ‘Ferrari will have a race with’ former team McLaren as they set podium targets at high-speed tracks
Carlos Sainz anticipates a battle against McLaren as Ferrari brace themselves
Carlos Sainz (via imago)
Carlos Sainz’s performance following the Mid-season break has been stunning. Ferrari’s win at the Singapore GP stands as a testament to the improvements that they’ve made to the SF-23. Similarly, McLaren have also stepped up their game. The Woking Wonders have been challenging Red Bull more often than any other team since the summer break. Sainz has identified McLaren as Ferrari’s biggest competitor in the following races.
Carlos Sainz spoke of McLaren’s recent surge in speed. The Spaniard anticipates a much closer fight against McLaren at tight and twisty ‘low-speed circuits’ but thinks the Orange team will edge the Prancing Horse’s performance on ‘high-speed circuits’. Sainz commented [as reported by radio Racefans.net], “When we go to places like Mexico, even Austin, with more low-speed content, we will be very equal to them – we will have a race with McLaren”.
McLaren’s Lando Norris finished runner-up as the team landed both their drivers on the Japanese GP podium with Piastri on P3. Carlos finished over 13 seconds behind Piastri (the slower McLaren on the day) in P6. McLaren are currently fifth in the Constructor’s standings, over 110 points behind Ferrari.
Do not miss: Lewis Hamilton admits Mercedes needs to have the ‘greatest six months of development’ to catch Red Bull in 2024
Carlos Sainz says the SF-23 still needs to improve a lot
Ferrari looked to have progressed a lot in the last two Grands Prix. The Italian Legends put up a stunning fight at Monza and actually beat the dominating Red Bulls in Singapore. Carlos Sainz took consecutive poles for Ferrari at the two Grands Prix and seemed to have stuck gold during the mid-season break.
The Spaniard however, has commented upon how Ferrari still have a long way to go in developing the car into a prominent challenger. Sainz commented [according to pitdebrief.com]on his SF-23, saying “The car is still not great, in some areas very good in others. There are certain tracks like Monza and Singapore that the car has adapted very well, others like Zandvoort, Silverstone, that it was very difficult to drive.”
Sainz pointed out how the SF-23 adapted well to Monza and the Marina Bay Street circuit but struggled at High-downforce tracks like Zandvoort and Silverstone. Ferrari will put effort into making their scarlet machine more consistent across the calendar. Their bid to be a consistent title challenger in 2024 seems to depend on this
In case you missed it:
Pierre Gasly pleased that the FIA admitted relaxing Max Verstappen’s penalty was a wrong call
Himanshu Chavan
(232 Articles Published)