Carlos Sainz reflected on a better performance from Ferrari last time out in Montreal as well as looking ahead to the upgrades Ferrari plan to introduce at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull ring.
Carlos Sainz and Ferrari enjoyed a more competitive Grand Prix last time out at the Circuit Gille Villeneuve, with Sainz finishing P5 behind teammate Charles Leclerc, a marked improvement from the team who have struggled on Sundays so far this season.
“The perception of the way that we were in the race, the pace that we had, was definitely good..”
Sainz reflects on the race, noting the improvement in race pace, as well as the strong finish, has boosted morale at Ferrari. He admits the team have struggled with their race pace in recent races despite showing impressive pace on Saturdays. This is evident in Sainz’s own performance at his home race in Barcelona where he qualified P2 only to drop back to P5 during the race.
“I think it was a good boost for the whole team,” he said of Ferrari’s performance in Canada. “Mainly looking at the race pace after a couple of difficult races where we were struggling with race pace, finally in Canada we seemed to have good race pace. Also the fact that we were going forward in the race and not going backwards makes a bit of a difference also for the perception of things.
“We actually finished 4th and 5th, similar results [to] the other race weekends that we’ve had, but the perception of the way that we were in the race, the pace that we had, was definitely good news and a boost of motivation for the whole team.”
“It’s easier to make the strategy work.”
Sainz was then asked about tyre management during the Canadian Grand Prix which he said was helped by the track characteristics as degradation was lower than on other tracks due to a lack of high-speed corners.
“The same as any other race weekend,” he responded. “Just a lower deg circuit which helps us for sure. It just shows that when you have a good race car and your tyre management is good, also the strategy is simpler, it’s easier to make the strategy work.
“So that’s what we are focussing on, to make sure we focus on the race pace, make sure we more often have the car of Canada than the car of Barcelona. That will help us to move forward in the races, make our strategy more flexible and have obviously more fun in the race.”
“In Canada there is nearly zero deg, which helps us…”
When pushed as to whether the performance in Canada was a result of an improvement in car setup or simply a track-specific characteristic, Sainz aired on the side of caution, claiming he believes the lack of high-speed corners, as well as the lower degradation inherent in Canada, boosted Ferrari’s performance.
He notes that despite this, the team are targeting minimising the effects of their weaknesses, and continued to hint that the updates the team will bring in Austria are targeting improving these issues with the car.
“I didn’t intend to sound like [Canada was] a genuine gain. I think it’s also track related,” he admitted. “In Canada there is nearly zero deg, which helps us, and then there’s also no high-speed corners, that helps us.
“We are obviously trying to improve these weaknesses every race. For sure in Canada we were trying to do steps and here [in Austria] with the package we’re bringing we are trying to improve the performance.
“I do think still, Canada suits us more than Austria, but let’s see. It could also be different because here in Austria last year we were very competitive. Sometimes in F1 you have circuits and weekends where the car just works better than others.”
“I can not thank the people back in Maranello enough…”
Sainz continued to discuss Ferrari’s planned upgrades for the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. He believes the upgrades will help the team make a step forward, but was wary to comment on how the team will improve in relation to Championship leaders Red Bull, noting that gains in Formula 1 are always relative to the gains made by the other teams around you.
“Another step in the right direction,” he replied when asked what the expectations are. “This is definitely the target. The team back in Maranello has done an incredible effort to bring them forward to this race.
“I can not thank the people back in Maranello enough, with the extra hours everyone has put in to try and revert the situation and try and put [in] those extra minutes, extra hours of work to make these parts arrive. It’s been a huge effort from everyone and from here I want to congratulate them.”
“To think we are going to cut the gap with one upgrade would be naive…”
The Ferrari man went on to say it would be unrealistic to expect Ferrari to be in a position to compete directly with Red Bull off the back of this upgrade. Still, he remains optimistic it will help the team progress and minimise the inherent weaknesses of their car.
“There is a big gap between the Red Bull and us,” he said. To think we are going to cut the gap with one upgrade would be naive and not realistic. Is the upgrade going to help our weaknesses and hopefully make us come closer? Yes.
“At the same time if Red Bull brings an upgrade to Austria, or sometime soon, it also means your upgrade is less big. So it’s all relative in F1. I do hope that this upgrade is opening, a bit like we saw in Barcelona, a new window of development and opportunities and new ways to set up the car that help us move in the right direction.
“But I think it would be a bit optimistic to think that suddenly we are going to be level par with Red Bull with how competitive they are.”
