Sainz Reveals What Ferrari Is 'Missing' Compared To Mercedes and Red Bull During Races
F1Wednesday, 01 November 2023 at 15:00
Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz revealed where he thinks the team lost out to Mercedes and Red Bull during the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Ferrari had an amazing start to the weekend in Mexico City. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified in the top two, securing the front-row lockout.
However, the P1 and P2 on the starting grid turned into P3 and P4 by the end of the race. That isn't the worst result, but Ferrari hopes to compete for the race wins.
Carlos Sainz told Sky Sport Italia after the race the team was not on the same level with Mercedes of the second Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull of the first Max Verstappen.
"It wasn't a good race for us, and we clearly saw that we were missing something during the race compared to Red Bull and Mercedes."
The Spanish driver identified the main problem for the Ferrari is tire degradation. Lewis Hamilton went 35 laps on Medium compound tires, on which he almost managed to achieve the fastest lap of the race in the end.
"The problem that we have is that Mercedes can use the medium tires for 30 laps and still manage to finish the race, where it could've been impossible for us. Mercedes is more flexible."
This is the same problem that Ferrari struggled with even in the 2022 season. The team has drivers who are able to put the car in pole position, but they always lose out to teams like Mercedes and Red Bull because they can't manage tires the same way.
"It’s always complicated at the first bend here. After that, it was a long, boring race for us. We did as much as we could today. Lewis, Max and even Lando had more pace than us."
What might have gone unnoticed in the post-race debriefings is the amazing defense that Carlos Sainz put up against George Russell. In a way, Sainz saved the third step on the podium for his teammate Leclerc.
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