Carlos Sainz highlights Ferrari’s significant progress, praising strategy improvements and consistent race-day performance in their pursuit of championship glory.
Second in the sprint race and second in the Grand Prix: while he may not have tasted victory, Carlos Sainz had an excellent weekend in Austin for Ferrari. The Spaniard secured a one-two finish behind Charles Leclerc, all while managing tyre wear superbly during the second half of the race.
Did he think that a win was possibly within reach as he closed in on his teammate towards the end of the race? Or was he simply delighted with the result?
“First of all, congratulations to the whole team. Congratulations to Charles on a brilliant victory. And yes, everyone should be very happy and proud of this weekend, and how we’ve clawed back after a difficult first half of the season… to suddenly put ourselves in a position to dominate the race like we did, and clearly be the fastest car. I’m really happy to see that, and I hope we can repeat it before the end of the year because it would be fantastic to get another win before the season’s over.”
At any point, did Carlos Sainz think victory was on the cards?
“Not really. To be honest, as soon as I saw Charles in P1… and then saw that Max couldn’t keep up with him. So probably at that moment, I knew that if I couldn’t get past Max in the first three laps, it was over because Charles and I always had very similar pace. Maybe in one or two races, he’s a tenth or two quicker, or maybe in another race, I’m a bit faster. But yes, it simply shows that track position at any Formula 1 circuit is crucial.”
“And after the start, especially with a car between us and not being able to pass Max in those first five laps, I knew it was going to be very, very difficult. Then, honestly, with the hard tyre, yes, I made up some time, but I was just pushing to check my pace and to see how comfortable I felt this weekend because I really enjoyed driving the car, and I knew I was quick.”
Carlos Sainz gave all the tifosi a scare at the start of the Grand Prix, reporting a strong smell of fuel in his car… which, fortunately, led to no further issues.
“Yes, it wasn’t the easiest start to the race. First, I got a bit caught up with Max and Lando, who were battling for the championship into Turn 1. Then I was pushing hard on Max, in his DRS, trying to apply as much pressure as possible. But for one lap, I had a kind of issue where I had very little power coming out of the corners. That cost me a few seconds, and more importantly, I lost the DRS to Max. From there, you end up in that 1.5 to two or three seconds gap, which is the worst for tyre wear and the car’s balance, meaning I just had to wait until the pit-stop windows.”
“And then, yes, we pulled off the undercut. We pitted very early for the hard tyre, but from there, I felt really comfortable, very confident, and we were very fast again. So, yes, a bit disappointed to have been so quick all weekend and not come away with the win, but at the same time, Charles did an excellent job and made a great start to put himself in position to win.”
Significant progress in Ferrari’s strategy
Is this the influence of Frédéric Vasseur? This year, both Ferrari’s developments and strategy have been outstanding, as evidenced once again at the Austin Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz executed a brilliant undercut on Max Verstappen at the end of the first stint.
Credit also goes to new strategist Ravin Jain, who celebrated with champagne on the podium. He played a key role in securing vital points for the team in Texas, as Sainz pointed out.
“Yes, I think all the credit goes to Ravin and the entire strategy team for the progress Ferrari has made over the last few years. I think it was crucial to see improvement in that area, and a lot of work has been done behind the scenes. Obviously, Ravin has played a fundamental role in that effort.”
“As I’ve said many times, having a good car on race day always helps to make the strategy work. And I think this year, compared to last, we have a very strong car on race day. The best example is the Austin race. A car that allows you to be the first to pit and still be fast on the hard tyre, without degrading more than others, despite being the first to switch. That’s something I struggled with in the past, especially last year. Yes, I remember in Singapore pitting on lap 14 of a 70-lap race, or 60 laps, and managing to make it to the end. With any other car or any other year where we had issues with degradation, or the car was weaker in the race, that wouldn’t have been possible.”
“So, making bold strategy choices on race day wouldn’t have been as easy, and we’d have looked crazier for taking them. This year, having a car that degrades the tyres less and makes you more competitive on race day also allows for more flexibility and better opportunities to play with strategy.”
Ferrari’s title ambitions
Ferrari has closed the gap to 8 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren F1 within reach at 48 points. Like Charles Leclerc, does Carlos Sainz believe Ferrari should now set its sights on the world title? How do the upcoming Grands Prix look for Ferrari?
“Yes, if I had to bet, I’d say Mexico and Vegas are good circuits for us. I’m basing that a bit on last year. This year, everything feels a little different. But Qatar will be a bit of a cursed circuit for us, if I had to bet my money again. And then Abu Dhabi, I don’t know. I’m not sure what we can achieve in Abu Dhabi, but we’ll see. I just hope this pace shows up again before the end of the season and gives me another shot to take my chances.”
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Ferrari’s Strategic Gains Fuel Hopes for Title Pursuit Ferrari’s Strategic Gains Fuel Hopes for Title Pursuit
