F1 News: Carlos Sainz On Clueless Ferrari Struggles- “We Need To Keep Analyzing"

Carlos Sainz raised several valid points about the SF-23's pace during the Grand Prix races.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has revealed that the team is unclear as to why it struggles so much with the SF-23's pace in the Grand Prix when the car displays excellent performance in qualifying. The Singapore GP winner stressed that they need to "keep analyzing" the situation for answers if they are to challenge Red Bull and Mercedes next season. 

Last year and partially this year, Ferrari was the biggest threat to the championship leader Red Bull. However, their excellent attack has always been limited to qualifying on several occasions and not the Grand Prix, thus raising the expectations by a high margin on Saturday but, ending the Sunday with utter disappointment. 

Take for instance the last two races and you'll notice Charles Leclerc taking pole position for the Maranello-based squad. But in the Grand Prix, his car failed to defend its position as he headed into Turn 1.

Ferrari Press Image

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Mexican Grand Prix, Sainz admitted that the team's ability to secure pole positions alongside its inability to maintain a close gap with race leader Max Verstappen is a major cause for concern. He said:

“It’s clear in quali that we can fight for poles but then in the race, It’s pretty clear that they are a good step faster than us. We just need to understand why, what do we do to the car? What do we do to the balance in quali that makes it so good and then in the race it makes it so tricky?”

Sainz continued that for Ferrari to pose a greater challenge next season, it must do a lot more than just be more competitive in qualifying. He continued:

“We need to keep analysing that and hopefully next year’s car will be a step forward in that direction, because it’s what we need in order to fight.

"Today, Lewis was in a different league together with Verstappen. Third and fourth today for Ferrari was the maximum that we could achieve.”

What has been irking Ferrari more is the fact that it has come quite close to Mercedes in second position in the Constructors' Championship with a 22-point difference.