Ferrari, the numbers of Sainz and Leclerc
Carlos’ standings and results Sainz after five races and a sprint they do not reflect the expectations of the Ferrari. The Spaniard is in fifth place, with 44 points and already an abyss (-75) from Max Verstappen. Worse still is going to Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque, who has already picked up two zeros, has ten points less than his teammate. With certain gaps, the fault certainly cannot lie with the drivers, who despite a few bad races (Sainz in Baku, Leclerc in Miami) do what they can to drive beyond the limits of a car that seems to keep up with Red Bull in qualifying but in race ago like shrimp.
The Spanish driver explained the disappointment that reigns within the team for this SF-23 conceptually inferior to the RB19, and that developments may improve but not transform it into a winning car.
Sainz’s words
“It’s been harder than any other year. It seemed to me that 2022 was a sort of return to the top for Ferrari. And I think we all expected to struggle to at least a similar level. Not only me, but the whole team had these expectations. AND suddenly finding himself more than half a second behind Red Bull was difficult to manage. Suddenly you have to do a reset, go back to the drawing board and make sure you keep everyone motivated“, these are the words of Sainz a The Race. “The amount of work going on in Maranello with the development plan is enormous. Try to align and motivating the whole factory to take the next step is the biggest challenge“.
“It’s not an easy car“, continued the Spaniard. “It’s insidious and makes it difficult to predict the right set-up in qualifying and in the race, the changing conditions, the wear of the tyres. As a driver though, I think I understand how to drive this generation of car. It hasn’t been an easy start, but I feel that even though the car is perhaps even more difficult than last year, I understand these complexities better. And I can set up and drive the car my way“.
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