Ferrari Struggles with Wet Tires at F1 Sprint

In rainy Shanghai, Ferrari drivers Sainz and Leclerc faced difficulties with their tires during the F1 Sprint qualifiers.

Carlos Sainz recorded the fifth-fastest time in the Sprint Shootout, the qualifier for the F1 Sprint taking place this Saturday in Shanghai. The Ferrari driver is pleased with the pace in dry conditions but concerned about the difficulties in exploiting the tires in the rain.

“It was a mixed session. It went well in SQ1 and SQ2, but the rain came in SQ3 and we failed to get the tires in the right window. We had difficulties with the rear tires and couldn’t push,” Sainz recounted.

“We are two or three seconds off the pole in fifth place! This shows the difference in these conditions between managing to get the tires in the right window and failing to do so. But it seems that both of us struggled. If it’s wet tomorrow, we’ll need to find something; on dry, we’ll be on pace.”

Charles Leclerc made a mistake at the start of SQ3 and hit the wall, but fortunately, he managed to recover and complete fast laps. Nonetheless, he is only seventh and is frustrated by his error, although there are positives for him.

“To be honest, the first outing was very tricky, it was difficult to get the tires in the right window and I lost the car at turn 8. This compromised the qualification as the steering was slightly bent,” stated the Monegasque.

“But overall, there were no miracles, I couldn’t have done much better. I didn’t optimize my qualification and I’m not satisfied, and if I have to look at the positives, it’s that we made a big step forward on the dry. I’m happy because I worked on tire preparation on dry and it seems to have paid off.”

Thanks to the progress made in preparing his fast laps, Leclerc would have liked to show that he is better at conditioning his car, but he will have to wait for the qualifiers tomorrow: “I’m eager to do it, I was hoping to be able to show it today but with the rain in SQ3 I couldn’t.”