Carlos Sainz admits “Mercedes 0.3s per lap faster than us, difficult to keep them behind” | 2023 Mexico GP. Carlos Sainz is rather disappointed when commenting on the fourth place in Mexico.

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz is rather disappointed when commenting on the fourth place he secured in the Mexican Grand Prix at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on Sunday. Indeed, starting from the front row, the Spaniard had different expectations for the race where he was alongside his pole-sitting Maranello teammate, Charles Leclerc.

While it was tough to hope to keep Max Verstappen’s Red Bull behind, what hurt the most was the comeback from Lewis Hamilton, who piloted his Mercedes from 6th to 2nd place, even overtaking Charles Leclerc in the latter part of the Mexican Grand Prix:

“It wasn’t a good race, but we clearly saw that we lack something here compared to Red Bull and Mercedes,” explains Carlos Sainz, stepping out of his Ferrari, after several laps of defending against the other Mercedes, driven by George Russell.

“In Qualifying, we get Pole Position with a 0.3-second advantage over Mercedes. In the race, Mercedes have that advantage per lap over us, so it becomes tough to keep them behind. We managed it with George Russell, but it was impossible with Lewis Hamilton; unfortunately, that’s how it went.” – he pointed out after the race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

Furthermore, Carlos Sainz highlighted the difficulties in driving his SF-23 well to achieve the performance that was missing.

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“For me, the first stint with the medium tires was tough, especially because they were already damaged after the formation lap. Additionally, I had to lift off quite a bit because the engine temperatures were rising. In the second stint, we corrected the balance, and with the hard tire, we were a bit faster, but nothing special. The issue is that Mercedes can make their tires last longer than us, so they can afford to switch to mediums at the end, like today, while we wouldn’t be able to finish the race if we did that. They have some flexibility in this aspect that we don’t have. We’re trying to improve the car’s characteristics for next year in this regard. This year is what it is, and we know we’re not like Mercedes.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded.