Fresh from several excellent weekends that allowed Ferrari to almost certainly conquer third place in the Constructors’ World Championship, Carlos Sainz Jr. arrived at Yas Marina, home to the last round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, with quite high expectations. However, the first two free practice sessions of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gave different indications.
The Madrid driver did not go beyond the ninth position obtained in the second free practice session thanks to a time of 1’24 “844. Carlos did 287 thousandths worse than Charles Leclerc, who preceded him in eighth place, but also of 1 “153 compared to Lewis Hamilton, author of the absolute best time.
Although Carlos was able to take advantage of the new hybrid part introduced by Ferrari in the second half of the season, his feeling with the SF21 was not good at all. Indeed, he himself did not use half words to define today’s day as the most difficult of the second half of the season.
“In reality, today was one of the most complex days of the second half of the season”, confirmed the Madrid-born. “Since the start of Free 1 I have not been comfortable with the car, which is strange because in the last 6 races we have been strong in Free 1 and Free 2, not having to make big adjustments to the car or change my driving. But today for some reason, perhaps due to the track and asphalt changes, the set up was not good and I struggled. Now we are trying to see what we can do for tomorrow. “
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
At the start of Free Practice 2, fitted with a set of Medium tires, Sainz’s feeling with the SF21 seemed to have improved. Instead, as the session continued, this turned out to be just a passing sensation, so much so that he was not at all happy at the end of the first day of work in Yas Marina.
“At the start of Free Practice 2 I had better sensations with Medium tires but, as the session progressed, I returned to having the sensations I experienced in Free Practice 1. I didn’t feel like I made much progress. So for sure we’ll have some work tonight. to do. I’m sure that if we manage to get the balanced car back to the way it was in the last few races, we will be fast again. “
“Now that I know the team better, everything is easier. I know what can help and vice versa. I am aware of which elements can be interesting to try tomorrow. We have a couple of doubts that we need to dispel.”
This year Yas Marina presented itself with a slightly different layout compared to what we saw from 2009 to last season. Sainz said these changes, made to improve driveability and performance, will still have to be tested in the next few days. However, it seems that the first two corners are not so good as to allow you to easily follow the cars in front.
“I think the track changes will definitely help. But we have to understand how much. At the moment it is still difficult to be able to follow whoever precedes you in Turn 1 and Turn 2, with these being the corners before the two DRS zones. But I think we will be able to do it. being close to those in front of us, we should be able to overtake “, concluded the Ferrari driver.
The helmet of Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
#Sainz #difficult #days #months