Ferrari Had 'Nothing To Lose' With Risky Strategy According To Sainz

Scuderia Ferrari Carlos Sainz reflected on his 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race unsuccessful strategy after losing the Championship battle against Mercedes.

While his teammate Charles Leclerc started from the front row, Carlos Sainz had to start from P16 after failing qualification. Therefore, he needed to opt for a riskier strategy to overtake at least one Mercedes driver.

The Spanish F1 driver started the race on a hard compound tire as he wanted to prolong his stint as much as possible in order to wait for an unexpected safety car that could bring him into the race. He told the media:

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While he admitted starting on the hard compound tire did not seem like the best choice, the 29-year-old added he had nothing to lose.

Similar to Mercedes, where George Russell drove a perfect race competing for a podium in front, and Lewis Hamilton struggled in the back, Ferrari also had two very opposite performances on the two sides of the garage in Abu Dhabi.

The end of the season was not kind to Sainz. The Spaniard suffered two unlucky incidents in Free Practice Sessions ahead of both the Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix destroying his car in both of them.

Ferrari ended up losing the battle for second place in the Constructors' Championship by 3 points to Mercedes. Sainz shared his disappointment:

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