Ferrari expected more from the SF-23. The train of victories, also called Red Bull, goes too far. But the season starts now, it doesn’t end, and in Maranello they prefer to think about the comeback instead of reveling in the criticism, which comes. Carlos Sainz (Madrid, 28 years old) receives AS in the chair of the hospitality of the Italians. His slight hoarseness reduces the volume of the voice, but does not take away from the message. The Spaniard wants to make history at Ferrari and he knows that this start of the course makes things more difficult for him. But he feels strong, more than in 2022, and he looks to the horizon of a “long, 23-race” season, in which there will be opportunities for everything.
—There is a lot of criticism around the Ferrari after a race that did not go as expected. Does it seem justified?
—On the one hand, yes, because our expectations were very high. We wanted to start the year fighting for wins and taking a step forward. In Bahrain this was not the case, we had reliability problems and on top of that Red Bull and even Aston Martin were faster than us. That part of the review is fine. But the criticism of the destabilization, of the changes, I do believe that it is not fair. It is allowed to fail, the most important thing is how you recover from that failure. We have to give ourselves time to recover from a tough start to the season. Others have made a slightly bigger step forward than we have, but we think we’ve figured out why and we’re going for it.
“Have you had a nightmare with the switchboard?”
-No I do not. It’s not ideal, you don’t want to start the season like this and it’s no secret, but it is what it is. During the race I’m not going to think about the switchboard. (Leclerc has changed it three times and in Arabia he comes out with ten penalty places on the grid).
—It has been a winter of many changes at Ferrari, or so it seems from the outside. From within, how are all these changes taking hold?
—In every team, time is needed when there are changes. The first race is coming up fast and we are in the process of taking the next step. Last year we took the step of being in front again; Now the next step is to win by being in front. Last year we had victories and opportunities, but the work during the year and how you develop the car is important. I want to think that we will take that step. The first race didn’t go well but we have to wait. If the pre-season and the first race last year had been in Spa, how would we have gotten out of Spa? (Carlos finished third, but overtaken by the Red Bulls in half a minute).
—Sunk…
—Sunk. You have to wait, do races and see how it goes.
—From what you noticed in Bahrain, perhaps more in the tests than in the race itself, is there a car to win races this season?
“I need more races to find out.” Some race can be won. At the moment we would need the help of the two Red Bulls, because if nothing happens to them and they go like in Bahrain in all the circuits we would need them to fail. But that was in Bahrain, I don’t know if it will be like that in Saudi Arabia. In addition, you have to see how each one develops.
“The objective now is to lose as few points as possible with the leader”
—What do Red Bull and Verstappen have that Ferrari does not have?
—A car that degrades the tires less, has more downforce and goes faster in the curve. There are no secrets. It looks on the GPS and that’s what we’re working on.
—After the first kilometers, what is your personal goal for the first third of the season?
—Losing the fewest number of points with the championship leader, which in this case is Verstappen ahead of Checo (Perez) and Ferdinand (Alonso). And wait, help the team to improve the car and when those improvements arrive, those benefits, start to win again.
—He goes out not to lose to recover when the car allows it…
—It’s a long year, there are 23 races. After the first we are fourth in the World Cup and many things can still happen. You don’t have to overreact, you have to stay calm and let the car develop as the races progress.
—Carlos Sainz has always been identified as an aggressive driver in the first few laps; and also consistent. Last year that was not always the case. How does he recover?
“The lack of consistency is my fault. Last year I was not able to be consistent, it had always been before and I want to be consistent again this year. The starts, honestly we had a problem with the car that I think we have solved this year. You saw it in Bahrain, we started like a shot and I couldn’t get past Checo because they closed me down, but I went on the attack. That’s something I want to get back. People don’t remember, but last year in France and Monza I started from far behind and made two comebacks in which more could not have been done. I was aggressive, I threw myself on the outside, on the inside. Two races that people may forget but I like to remember them.
—That pilot who came back in Paul Ricard or Monza has to be one of the stars of this grid, right? One of those who appears on the promotional posters with Verstappen and Hamilton…
—At the level that I was in the second half of last season, and at the level that I think I can be this year, yes. I will be taken into account, and if not, I will take care of continuing to improve as a driver. It also depends on what I want to propose to myself, and I would like nothing more than to be a champion, the best, the most aggressive, everything. I will try by all means.
“Fernando and I respect each other in wheel-to-wheel but we also make it fun”
—Where is the compromise between being a good teammate and winning your teammate?
—I know where it is because I am lucky to have beaten my partner on several occasions. not to current (Leclerc)that I won it for only one year (in 2021), but I did win it against other very good drivers like Lando (Norris) or Kvyat. It has never seemed like a problem for me to get along with a teammate, help us work together and then beat each other on the track.
—How does it affect the three big teams that there is now a fourth, Aston Martin? Because now you can be eighth with a clean weekend…
“It will make comebacks more difficult. He will have more distribution of points, unless Red Bull dominates as much as in the first race. It opens the range of possibilities and will reward perseverance. There will be much more competition. Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes are quite close, in Bahrain the Aston Martin was ahead but we will see in Jeddah. Red Bull is rather in another league compared to the three of us.
—Is Spain prepared to see a fight for victory between its two pilots?
—Well, they already saw her on the podium… although she had few opportunities. For the victory it would be similar, that they do not expect something very different. We are two drivers who respect any rival, we respect each other in the wheel-to-wheel fight but we also make it fun.
—Do you perceive the euphoria that there is in Spain towards Formula 1?
—I perceive it, it reaches me. It is something beautiful that there are so many excited people and that they follow it from home. I like it.
—And can’t you make the Grada Sainz bigger?
—No. (smile) It didn’t last long…(In eight minutes the 3,300 tickets available in its grandstand for the Spanish GP were sold out, up to 14,000 people accessed at the same time to try to buy). At the moment they don’t leave me more than 3,000, we’ll see next year.