The Italian team must improve its car and the Spanish has to take a step forward
It is no secret to anyone that Formula 1 has greatly surprised its fans this season. This time, Carlos Sainz He is one of those who took a step back on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit and this has been referred to by Frédéric Vasseur, the director of the Ferrari team.
Carlos Sainz finished behind Verstappen as first, Lewis Hamilton second, George Russell third and Checo Pérez fourth, and this leaves Fréderic Vasseur to think. And that leaves him in sixth position in the 2023 World Cup standings, just ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.
The 20 seconds that Carlos Sainz lost are a reason for disgust for Vasseur
Vasseur, has pointed out to Sainz: “Carlos did the best job possible with what he had. He did a good first and last stint, but in the second he lost 15 or 20 seconds to his rivals”. And these seconds are the ones that condemned him, since he was just over 20 seconds behind Hamilton.
The big problem is that it seems that those of Ferrari do not finish performing as everyone expected this season. They are always among the first, but they are not quite regular. And there are always small problems that deprive their pilots of having a chance to win the races.
The great Formula 1 teams have managed to improve their cars
“I think we have taken a step forward with respect to potential compared to Miami, but Mercedes as well,” said Fréderic Vasseur. And it is true that the improvements of the Ferrari have been noticed, but the rivals also compete and also improve their single-seaters. And from Ferrari they trust their possibilities.
But everything indicates that this season is already lost for the Ferrari. Verstappen is too far in the standings and you can only aspire to get an improvement to fight for the second final position or to get on the podium. And, meanwhile, Sainz has to follow his own and find his way.