Carlos Sainz reflects on Ferrari’s inefficiencies, admitting they hindered his race, though he doubts a better finish was possible.
Third in Las Vegas and securing his eighth podium of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Carlos Sainz expressed satisfaction at extracting the maximum from his Ferrari behind the untouchable Mercedes duo. However, he lamented his team’s lack of operational efficiency, citing a last-second aborted pit stop that cost him significant time.
“There were more challenges than we expected. At the same time, I think Mercedes simply had the fastest car, the fastest package. I believe George and Lewis ran a very strong race. On our side, we struggled too much with graining, more than anticipated. That meant we couldn’t push on the tires. We had to save so much that we couldn’t exploit the car’s pace. We just weren’t fast enough. It wasn’t our day.”
“We simply lacked execution overall. We didn’t have a very good race. I think we stayed out one lap too many on the mediums, two laps too many on the hards. And when I was about to pit, we had that messy radio communication at the pit entry, which probably cost me a lot of time. I had to let Charles through, plus the two or three seconds I lost entering the pits. That adds up to a lot of race time that might have allowed us to fight with Lewis.”
“This shows that in this sport, you have to do everything perfectly every weekend. We’ve handled strategy and race management very well throughout the year. But this time, it wasn’t our day. We didn’t execute properly, and we’ll have to learn from this to come back stronger in Qatar.”
“No one is happy” with how Ferrari’s race unfolded
Carlos Sainz also understands why his teammate Charles Leclerc was dissatisfied that the two Ferraris had to swap positions at certain points during the race (read more here), with the Spanish driver once again highlighting operational issues.
“Yes, I think he had graining on the medium tires, and I managed to get ahead before the pit stop on the mediums. Then I had graining on my hard tires, and he was closing in quickly behind me. I anticipated the situation because Lewis was just behind Charles at that moment, and I was almost certain the team would ask me to let Charles through since he was faster. With my tires very worn, I asked the team two or three times to pit me, to get me off the line, and to give me a new set of hard tires to ensure I didn’t lose much race time by letting Charles through and having to fight Lewis simultaneously.”
“For some reason, we didn’t do it, and I had to let Charles through a lap later than expected, which cost me a lot of race time. And when I was about to pit, I ultimately didn’t. So, I guess he’s not happy, but I’m not happy either with how things were managed. And yes, I think no one in the team is happy because we were all expecting a bit more. I’m on the podium, so at least I delivered that for the team. But at the same time, I don’t think we could have finished better than third and fourth.”
Sainz holds little hope of gaining points on McLaren F1 in Qatar
Despite Ferrari clawing back valuable points from McLaren F1 in the Constructors’ Championship—now trailing the British team by 24 points with two races remaining—Carlos Sainz believes it will be difficult for the Scuderia to replicate their strong performance from Las Vegas this weekend in Qatar.
“We just have to try to maximize what we have. I think we’ve done a good job over the last few weekends. We got the most out of it with a second place in qualifying, and in the race, our maximum was third. In Qatar, the maximum might be fifth or sixth because with this car, on a circuit like Qatar, I expect to struggle and I expect McLaren and Mercedes to be very strong. Probably even Red Bull, given they were strong in qualifying at Austin. So yes, I think it’s going to be a very tough weekend for us. That’s why it was important to get the maximum points available here, and we did that with the pace we had.”
After the cold in Nevada, the drivers now face the extreme heat of Qatar in just a few days. Sainz feels drivers are fit and prepared enough to handle the conditions but anticipates that no one will be at their absolute best.
“It comes down to the fitness you’ve built up over the first part of the year and staying in shape and healthy. It will be a shock to the body, but if you’re fit, healthy, and managed to stay warm in Vegas without catching a cold, taking melatonin when needed, and sleeping when you should, you should be fine. But I don’t think anyone will be in peak condition in Qatar.”
Sainz Criticizes Ferrari’s Operational Shortcomings Sainz Criticizes Ferrari’s Operational Shortcomings
- Discover More>Ferrari Narrow Gap to McLaren Despite Vegas Frustration
- Follow us on >Facebook and >Twitter for F1 updates.
