Carlos Sainz blames SF23’s ‘zero flexibility’ and massive tire degradation for his lackluster run at the Miami GP

Carlos Sainz says he struggled with his Ferrari's lack of flexibility as he finished fifth in the race after starting third.

Carlos Sainz at the Miami Grand Prix (Credits: PlanetF1)

Ferrari’s recent performances have been a cause of concern for the team and fans alike. Carlos Sainz recently expressed frustration with the SF23 car, stating it has “zero flexibility” when preserving the tires. Sainz, who finished fifth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, struggled again at the Miami Grand Prix, where the team failed to score a podium finish, with Charles Leclerc crashing out in Q3.

Carlos Sainz‘s complaints stem from the car’s inability to switch strategies mid-race, which limits the team’s options and forces them to maintain a particular pace to make it to the end of the race. Sainz said, “we don’t have flexibility to push or not push and we just need to follow a certain pace to make it to the end.”

FS Video

According to him, the team were surprised to witness such lacklustre run at Miami, where they thought they would be better. He further added, “as soon as you push for one lap, you do one good fast lap and then the next lap, you are 0.3s slower with the tires that were just very, very tough.”

Both the Ferrari drivers have expressed a lack of confidence in their cars, citing issues with wind sensitivity, tire degradation, and understeer in low-speed corners. Ferrari brought their first significant upgrades of the season to the Miami Grand Prix, with refined floor edges for better aerodynamic efficiency. However, the upgrades did not yield the expected results, and the drivers could not go up the field.

Discover: WATCH: Max Verstappen’s engineers give reply to fans showing middle finger at the Dutchman in Miami GP

Carlos Sainz claims huge tire deterioration cost him the chance to keep Fernando Alonso at bay

Carlos Sainz in his SF23 at the Miami GP (Credits: F1 Chronicle)

Ferrari failed to retain their position after undercutting Fernando Alonso‘s Aston Martin by pitting a lap earlier. “We tried to undercut Alonso, but it didn’t work,” said Sainz, “We lost a bit of time in the first stint, and then we lost even more in the second stint.” Alonso eventually passed Sainz on track as the juice of their tires died pretty much after a couple of push laps.

Sainz, who had a terrible run at the Azerbaijan GP, hoped to have a redemption tale at Miami, but the car was nowhere near what he would expect. On the other hand, Charles Leclerc had a dismal weekend at Miami, crashing twice in the same corner and struggling to pass the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. The Maranello squad has a couple of other upgrades scheduled for Imola and Spain and hopes to make up for lost ground to their rivals.

I miss him [carlos sainz on the podium] ?️ pic.twitter.com/e1WUyS726M
— safe place for chili's stans (@carlosainzxsafe) May 9, 2023

Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Mercedes are crushing the Ferraris. The SF23 is superb on a one-lap basis, but in race trim, it is nowhere near the top contenders. The Miami Grand Prix last weekend was a prime illustration of this. Although qualifying was cut short, it was clear that the Italian team was matched, if not defeated, by the Red Bulls. And on race day, the SF23 suffered tremendously, and the drivers could not make their way up the field. Verstappen won the race in his Red Bull despite starting tenth on the grid, and even Mercedes, who started miles behind the Scuderia, managed to pass them on track.