Carlos Sainz endured a tricky Mexico GP, eventually crossing the line to finish P4. He was 4s behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari
After losing out to Max Verstappen at the first start, the Spaniard struggled on his mediums in the opening stint as he fell 10s behind his Ferrari stablemate.
He would also be undercut by Lewis Hamilton as the Mercedes driver was clearly quicker but couldn’t get past.
After his stop, he was P4. In spite of a red flag and hairy moment on the restart, he stayed there until the end.
“Looking at the pace that Max and Hamilton had, it was honestly a matter of time [them] getting ahead or in front. They are simply a lot quicker than us in race pace.
“We kind of expected going into the race that they have some extra pace in there.
“We had to manage a lot the temperatures. I had a weird stint on mediums. I struggled with a front tyre that was grained almost in the formation lap. We will have to have a look at that one.
“Once we put the hards on, I think we were just following the pace of the car this weekend.”
Ferrari bagged their fifth pole of 2023 on Saturday and the first front row lockout for a team since Red Bull at Bahrain back in March.
However, it was another day where Verstappen and Hamilton had incredible race pace and simply overpowered the Scuderia when it mattered. It’s now a single win from those five poles due to tyre deg and simply lacking pace on high fuel.
Sainz says this is the main area Ferrari will be working on for next year as they try to close the gap.
“It’s been the case the whole year. The whole year we can fight them in quali and we can beat them in quali.
“But then come the race, 2 or 3 tenths [a lap]… sometimes 1 tenth, sometimes 4 tenths off the pace. It depends on the track.
“It’s the main weakness of the car and where we are focusing for next year.”
In the battle for P4 following the restart with Sainz on hards and Russell on mediums, the Brit was complaining about the Spaniard weaving on the straights and moving under braking.
The Ferrari driver was not noted for it. He believes Russell was playing up on the radio to try and get him in trouble.
“I was moving once and right before braking, which is what the rules allow. You cannot move under braking but you can move right before braking. That’s what I am doing.
“I think it’s the same as always really. When you are behind you open the radio you complain and see if the guy in front gets a warning or a 5-second penalty because it benefits you.
“It’s the same as always. Everyone does it. George does it a lot.”
