Sainz Admits Ferrari 'Suffered Shock' From Pace Deficit to Red Bull

Thursday, 21 December 2023 at 07:00

Carlos Sainz shared how his Ferrari team was surprised at the beginning of the 2023 season when they found out about the lack of pace compared to Red Bull.

Scuderia Ferrari F1 team was one of the two teams that managed to build the most competitive cars in 2022. Even though the Italian team fell a bit back towards the end of that season, they made great progress ahead of 2023 and expected to compete for the title and race wins again.

However, the team was struck with harsh reality after the first weekend in Bahrain, as Ferrari's team principal recently admitted. Carlos Sainz told DAZN:

"We all expected to fight for the World Cup and then immediately in the pre-season tests we saw that it was not going to be possible."

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Both Red Bull Racing drivers finished the first race of the 2023 season more than 30 seconds ahead of Sainz, who was the only Ferrari driver to finish the race. The Spaniard continued:

"This immediately caused the team to suffer a shock, you don't know why the Red Bulls have improved so much, why we are falling behind, why in some circuits we take pole and in others a second... All this takes time to assimilate and analyze."

Ferrari was even slower than Mercedes or Aston Martin during the first half of the season. However, the Italian team improved and was the second-best team in the second half of the season.

"In the second half of the season, knowing what there was, we dedicated ourselves to taking advantage of what there was. We have been relatively consistent when things don't get out of my control."

The 29-year-old Ferrari driver was the only non-Red Bull driver to score a win in the 2023 season. Sainz suggested he makes progress every season, and 2023 was no exception as he managed to shine.

"When nothing happens to us I'm there, fulfilling. I think I had very good races. Every year you have more experience, every year you feel more confident in yourself. And I think that this year I have also managed to shine."