Max Verstappen, from the Netherlands, driving for Red Bull Racing, took the lead at the start of the race. This happened on April 21, 2024, during the Chinese Grand Prix, which is part of the Formula 1 World Championship. The race took place in Shanghai, China.
Carlos Sainz believes that Charles Leclerc’s defensive move at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix had a clear impact on the race time of both Ferrari drivers. Ferrari expected their stronger race pace to allow Leclerc and Sainz, who started sixth and seventh on the grid, to compete for a place on the podium. However, Leclerc’s move caused both drivers to fall behind George Russell of Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas when they reached Turn 1 on the first lap.
Leclerc took advantage of a Virtual Safety Car period to make a pit stop and secure fourth place with a one-stop strategy. On the other hand, Sainz had to continue his stint without a pit stop, compromising his race plan. Despite this setback, Sainz managed to salvage fifth place and expressed satisfaction with the result considering the circumstances.
Sainz acknowledged that their pace during the race was not enough to achieve a better position than fifth place. He also mentioned the poor start they had, losing two positions in Turns 1 and 2. From that point on, they were playing catch-up. Sainz explained that they had to make an early pit stop to put on hard tires and then continue with a one-stop strategy from lap 18. He admitted that they pushed the hard tires as much as they could, but it was clear that they were not making significant progress. However, given the car’s performance throughout the weekend and the decisions they made, Sainz believed that fifth place was the best they could achieve.
L’incident entre les deux pilotes de la Ferrari lors de la course Sprint en début de week-end a été mentionné, Leclerc décrivant la conduite de Sainz comme « au-delà de la limite ». Lorsqu’on lui a demandé si la manœuvre défensive au début du Grand Prix de Chine était une riposte à cet incident, Sainz a choisi de ne pas commenter directement, mais a reconnu que cela leur avait coûté deux positions et n’avait bénéficié à aucun des deux.
L’intervention de la voiture de sécurité a rapproché Leclerc de Lando Norris, mais il n’a pas pu suivre le rythme du pilote de McLaren et a fini par tomber derrière Sergio Perez. Sainz a admis que McLaren était tout simplement plus forte tout au long du week-end, tant en qualifications qu’en course. Il a reconnu qu’il y aura des circuits où la Ferrari se comportera mieux et d’autres où McLaren aura l’avantage. Sainz a exprimé l’espoir de futures mises à jour qui pourraient fournir plus de performances.
