Carlos Sainz qualified in an impressive second place for the 2023 Mexico City GP, but admitted he does not know how he was able to extract such good pace from the SF-23 after struggling to put a good lap together “all weekend”.
Photo Credits: Scuderia Ferrari
After a disappointing run in the practice sessions which saw Carlos Sainz finish a best of only seventh place in FP1, 11th in FP2 and a lowly 15th in final practice, the Ferrari driver enjoyed a massive turnaround in his fortunes to qualify on the front row for the Mexico City GP.
The Spaniard ended up just 0.067s behind his team-mate and eventual pole-sitter Charles Leclerc after the first runs in Q3, which left him second on the grid, but failed to improve on his final lap, not setting any personal best sectors and over two tenths back from his previous lap of a 1:17.233.
Speaking after the session, Sainz admitted the fluctuations in form from one session to another and even one run to another have left him puzzled in a weekend where he didn’t achieve a “good lap” until the first run in Q3:
“Honestly it’s been a tricky weekend again, putting laps together has been extremely difficult for me on the soft tyre,” he said. “Up until Q3 run one, I hadn’t done a good lap all weekend and then suddenly that lap – even though it had a snap in Turn 8, Turn 8-9 that I nearly lost the car – it was a pretty good lap.
“When I saw 17.2 on the dash I was like ‘yeah I don’t know where this is coming from right now.’”
The 29-year-old says he and his Ferrari have some “work” ahead to try and understand why the SF-23 can produce stunning laps in low fuel-spec but struggles to maintain that in race trim, something that has been a trend that has followed them for much of the 2023 F1 season:
“It just shows that there’s still something that we need to understand, something that we need to look at why our car suddenly – when it comes to low fuel, soft tyres and Q3 high grip – it comes alive.
“And then suddenly in some sessions or in higher fuel, more worn tyres, then it’s a trickier car. It’s something that we are working on, that sometimes gives us some very good surprises and some not so good ones so we’ll work on it.”
Sainz, who is the only driver other Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to have won a race this season, is wary that the Red Bulls usually treats its tyres better over long distances, but insisted it is “impossible” to tell if Ferrari has to aim for a win or simply a podium due to the inconsistent nature of its car around the Mexican circuit:
“I don’t know, I think it’s impossible to tell around Mexico, obviously if we do laps like we do today we can aim for the podium or the win,” said the Spaniard. “But to do that for 71 laps in our car is a bit trickier, also with our tyre management is trickier.
“I think normally that is where Red Bull makes a difference, but together with Charles [Leclerc] we will try and do everything we can to keep him behind and try to challenge for that win.”
With the unique demands due to the high-altitude of the circuit, the two-time grand prix winner believes managing the temperatures of the brakes and the power unit will be just as important as the tyre management for success around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on race day:
“I think last year everyone did a one stop anyway with a C4 and a C3, I think this year, which is the same tyres that we have available for tomorrow so it doesn’t change much the picture,” he said. “But I feel like this year the tyres are trickier to manage, we saw in FP2 and FP3 more graining on both front and rear axles, and I think it’s going to mean that the race is going to be a lot trickier than what it was last year.
“It will be all about the management [not only] of the temperature of the tyres, but also the temperature of the engine and how we can put together the most consistent, trouble-free race.”
