After a difficult F1 Sprint in São Paulo, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were left lamenting the extreme lift-and-coast measures they had to take in the 24-lap race at Interlagos in order to keep temperatures under control in their SF-23.
Photo Credits: Scuderia Ferrari
Both Ferrari drivers started the race on used soft compound tyres in a bid to save the new sets for Sunday’s grand prix – and whilst they were able to move up the order compared to their positions in the Sprint Shootout, both Leclerc and Sainz were left frustrated after the race due to the excessive lift-and-coast requirements during the short race.
Generally used for fuel saving, lift-and-coast means the drivers have to stop accelerating some distance before the braking zone, in order to cool the engine, letting the aerodynamic resistance slow the car down before finally applying the brakes.
Speaking to selected media after the race, Carlos Sainz, who finished in eighth and just held on to the final points-paying position, said the decision to start on used softs was strategic with an eye on the main race, but admitted the Scuderia won’t be able to progress much if it has the same temperature issues as it had during the Sprint:
“We’ve used all the worst possible sets that we had available, and we’ve saved the good ones for [the race], so hopefully this helps,” said the Spaniard. “But it will not be very positive if we need to keep doing so much lift-and-coast, which at the moment for our temperatures was very, very tricky, and we simply couldn’t push our race.
“We were also [struggling] in clean air, probably we were just a bit on the limit, and [in the Sprint] the temperature surprised us, we expected it to be cooler [in the race], so hopefully it goes in a better direction, but [it was] the most lift-and-coast I’ve done in my whole life, for sure.”
The Singapore GP winner said he wasn’t frustrated with Interlagos’ nature of DRS passing and re-passing into turns one and four, and instead admitted he was “playing around” with the detection points in order to keep his position – something which he famously did on his way to Ferrari’s only victory in 2023 so far:
“No, I was just playing around with it, seeing if it was my only way to keep position, because Daniel [Ricciardo] with the new soft was a lot quicker, and I was having to do so much lift and coast that I couldn’t even push the braking,” he explained. “So I had to make sure I had the DRS to at least be quick on the straights.”
On the other side of the garage, Leclerc had much the same frustrations as Sainz, as the Monegasque said he was having to lift off in “every corner” – but he expects that to improve in Sunday’s grand prix as he will be starting on the front row, not having to deal with as much dirty air from the cars ahead:
“A lot, a lot [of lift-and-coast]. Luckily for me, [in the race] I’ll be starting second, so hopefully much less cars in front of me after the first lap. That will help me to be a bit in a better window compared to [the Sprint].
“Everywhere, basically every corner,” he said when asked where he was having to back off. “Mexico was quite bad as well, but there are some races where you know you’re going to have those types of issues. [In the Sprint] it was a bit more than expected, but I expect [Sunday] to be a better day for that.”
And whilst he expects to have less issues with overheating on Sunday, Leclerc is wary that the Ferrari will not have the pace to compete with Max Verstappen, despite starting on the front row of the grid – after comparing his and Verstappen’s final lap of the short race – saying it is “irrelevant” if he takes the lead in the first corner:
“I checked the last lap of Max and myself – my one was a pretty good lap, and I was 9 tenths off or a second off,” he said. “If this is the pace of the cars, then I’m pretty sure that even if I pass him, that’s a bit irrelevant because I think in two or three laps he should be passing again.
“Oh yeah, there’s the opportunity. I’m competing,” he said when asked if it’s still worth challenging Verstappen on the opening lap. “But I will focus on my race. I think our main target at the moment is beating Mercedes in the Constrictors. We’ve had a really positive weekend looking at that. But we’ve still got a huge amount of work to do for catching both Red Bull, but now also McLaren that are on a huge step forward.”
