Carlos Sainz outpaces Ferrari again at Imola, praising Williams’ progress as Maranello faces mounting pressure and performance woes in F1 2025.
At Imola, Carlos Sainz expressed genuine satisfaction at the prospect of driving a blue car rather than a red one in 2025.
On Saturday, Charles Leclerc summed up Ferrari’s increasingly difficult situation with a string of “Oh my God” radio messages. Like Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc failed to make it into Q3 during what was supposed to be a home race for the team.
Team principal Fred Vasseur blamed the tires, but Leclerc didn’t hide his frustration when asked about those comments.
“We can change the tires, but the car doesn’t work,” the Monegasque snapped. “There’s no performance there.”
When asked if the upcoming upgrade for Ferrari at Barcelona could mark a turning point, Vasseur replied, “If I say yes, I’m being stupid, considering how we performed in qualifying.”
Ironically, even Carlos Sainz, who will be driving for Williams next season after being replaced by Hamilton, managed to outqualify both Ferraris at Imola.
“I didn’t expect this at the beginning of the season,” Sainz said with a broad smile.
“I had a lot of confidence in the Williams project based on the data they showed me, but being ahead of Ferrari for the second race in a row? If you’d told me that before the season started, I would have signed with Williams even faster.”
Still, Sainz believes Ferrari will eventually solve their problems.
“They’ll figure it out sooner or later,” he said. “And if they ever call me back, I’d come back.”
Meanwhile, questions are beginning to surface about Ferrari’s apparent stagnation under Vasseur’s leadership.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who knows firsthand what it’s like to be shown the door at Ferrari, commented from Imola:
“Ferrari is both a privilege and a responsibility, but Vasseur needs time to do his job.”
One Italian journalist even confronted Vasseur with the claim that Ferrari’s weakness heading into 2025 lies in the rear suspension, a claim that comes amid whispers of a major design overhaul underway at Maranello ahead of Barcelona.
“What I love about Italian journalists is that I learn more from you than from the team during a race weekend,” Vasseur joked.
“We’re not where we want to be, but there’s never a single flaw in a car, just as there’s no magic fix. We’re working, we’re trying to improve, but there won’t be a miracle solution.”
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