There are no long faces when, simply, more cannot be done. Sainz started second, fought for the lead into the first corner and finished fifth because in the rhythm race his Ferrari had nothing to say against the Red Bull and Mercedes. The difference multiplied in Barcelona. “I can’t be happy with this race at home, you want to show off and go forward, be able to defend yourself and I couldn’t even defend myself. I can’t be in a good mood after being so inferior to the Mercedes and the Red Bulls”, said the man from Madrid at the end.
“I leave with the feeling that I have given everything, I have not left anything. It is what it is and there is not much else. Perhaps this adds value to Saturday’s return. When you see where we were in the race, you see that Saturday was a very good day to get second with what we suffered later ”, he comments. He took care of the rubber, but there was no more: “I did a very careful first stint with the soft tire, trying not to wear it down, but in laps 12-13 I had no wheels. Then with medium and hard I had to go very slowly to be in the target laps that we had. If we press, we slow down. It is our biggest weakness. We have to keep working because if we want podiums when we start in front, we have to improve”.
If Russell finished on the podium after starting 12th, is Mercedes in another league? “Mercedes here has gone where Aston Martin is, 30-40 seconds behind Red Bull, and we are still 50 seconds behind. We have not moved. If we are in the same league? Today of course not, that’s why I haven’t been able to fight them. I saw that a lap before or after they would pass me and I had to do my race. Same as Czech. But I warned yesterday that it would not be easy. I’m not stupid… When I see that there are options, I fight like the most. But they had almost a second ahead, is it worth it to lock the tire or go to the dirty part? I do not think so. You have to know how to choose your career and the Mercedes were not in my career ”.
“This is the worst circuit for us”
The SF-23 debuted a new aerodynamic package, but for now it has not given results (Leclerc did not even score, he was 11th). “In the factory they are giving everything, nothing can be blamed on us. We tried everything, parts of the car have arrived that should not have arrived at this race. Maranello is dedicated, but there is a lack of understanding to make these cars faster in the race. Sometimes things work immediately and other times you have to wait a couple of races to understand it well. And we have brought it to the worst circuit of the season for us. High degradation, fast curve. I knew we would suffer even with the new package.”
However, there are positives: in a year of rumors and uncomfortable situations, Sainz has ten points, zero for Charles, and has a 16 advantage in the standings. About his performances, from an individual level: “I’m driving well. The car could not get more. Except Baku, I’ve been in several races since Australia, Miami, Monaco, feeling very comfortable with the car and getting a lot out of it. It’s not an easy car and above all it doesn’t shine, in the race we look in the rear-view mirrors. For the pilot it is frustrating, you always go backwards. It’s frustrating. But I try to give everything for the team, I give the best of myself in a difficult year and I hope it can be corrected soon”.