Carlos Sainz is optimistic that Ferrari will experience a performance resurgence in the next race in Austria. Sainz believes that Barcelona, the location of the Spanish Grand Prix, has been a challenging track for Ferrari this season. Despite implementing significant improvements in an attempt to recover from a disastrous race in Canada, both Sainz and Charles Leclerc were unable to keep up with the pace of their rivals and secured the third row on the grid. The race itself proved equally difficult for Ferrari, with Sainz struggling with tire degradation and finishing in sixth place, while Leclerc trailed behind in fourth. Ferrari, once a consistent challenger to Red Bull, is now behind both McLaren and Mercedes in terms of performance. Sainz suspects that the issues faced by Ferrari are specific to the circuit’s characteristics and hopes for greater competitiveness in the upcoming races. While acknowledging the tight margins in qualifying, Sainz noted that both he and Leclerc were slightly slower than their rivals in the race. Red Bull and McLaren have established themselves as the leaders, leaving Ferrari fighting for better results in the next races. Sainz remains uncertain if Ferrari will be able to challenge Red Bull and McLaren for victories, but he is optimistic about their chances of being more competitive in the future.
Sainz revealed after qualifying that Ferrari’s biggest time loss compared to its immediate competitors comes from the recurring balance in high-speed corners. Although the Ferrari SF-24 has shown improvement compared to its predecessor’s weaknesses, the Spaniard revealed that the twisty corners continue to be an area where they lose ground. According to Sainz, long combined corners, such as those in China, here or Suzuka, pose a challenge for the team. These long corners, combined with high-speed corners, were a weakness for Ferrari last year and continue to be a development priority this year. Sainz also mentioned that the deficit becomes more pronounced during races, when tire degradation comes into play and newer rubber cannot compensate for the SF-24’s deficiencies. The race becomes more difficult to handle as the balance becomes more open and the tire loses its peak performance. However, Sainz denied being concerned about high-speed balance being problematic on tracks like the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, where dealing with bumps is essential. He noted that Barcelona and 2022 were the tracks where they suffered the most from this. Austria did not present problems in terms of track characteristics and asphalt, and Silverstone showed some improvement for Ferrari. The performance of the cars on these tracks this year is yet to be seen.
