Ferrari Driver Carlos Sainz Experiences Difficult Sunday at the Track
Carlos Sainz had a challenging Sunday at the track, but managed to secure a decent result despite a poor start. Sainz lost a significant amount of time and wore out his tires by overtaking slower cars.
"I don’t know what happened at the start, to be honest. We have to see if it was my fault in terms of the start procedure, if I failed in something, or if we simply had clutch settings that were too aggressive for the grip we had on the dirty part," Sainz explained, expressing uncertainty about the events that unfolded in the first few meters.
From there, Sainz had to fight against the odds, passing Fernando in the first stint and using up his tires in the process. He also had to pass Checo and Russell in the second stint, further degrading his tires.
"The last stint was decent, but I was already too far from the top five," Sainz commented on the final laps, where he had a chance to pass Leclerc but was unable to do so due to Max’s crash.
Sainz acknowledged that the start had condemned him to a difficult race, saying, "We have wasted a good qualification on a circuit where qualifying is important. So today I’m not happy because it was a day to get off to a good start, keeping my position, overtaking at the start, as I always do, and finishing third or fourth."
Despite the disappointing start, Sainz’s performances this year have been strong, with the start being his strong point until Sunday’s event. He concluded, "In 24 races, there will always be a bad start."
Ferrari’s Performance at SPA
Sainz is cautious about Ferrari’s performance at SPA, saying, "I think we have to wait and see. I think we can’t draw conclusions too soon. Not to contradict Fred, but the corners here are at 220km/h, and those at Spa and Silverstone are at 260km/h, and that’s when everything really starts to change."
Team Orders at McLaren
Sainz also commented on team orders at McLaren, saying, "Well, they just told me, I think that what had to be done has been done, that if you get a free undercut to your teammate you have to give it back to him, something that not all teams have done in the past." He concluded, sending a message to Ferrari, who have sometimes benefited their teammate Leclerc in this way.
