Carlos Sainz admits: "Realistically, in Singapore we won't be as fast as we were at Monza"

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, during the usual Thursday conference, talked about the Maranello team’s objectives and expectations for the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix weekend. When asked if he felt he was becoming more competitive with each race, he replied: “I’m not sure, but I’ve certainly felt much better in the car in recent races.”

“We are starting to understand it better and make sure to set it up correctly from Friday. This gives confidence and helps you build the weekend better. This year, I feel more comfortable compared to last year, but I’m only putting everything together in the last few races,” he added – “My goal for the second part of the season was to be more consistent and achieve better results, so I hope to continue like this.” – the Spaniard pointed out.

When asked if he expects Scuderia Ferrari to be competitive in Singapore as it was in the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Carlos Sainz stated: “Realistically, in theory, we shouldn’t be as fast as in Monza. Normally, we have found a lot of difficulties on high-downforce tracks like this, and it will also be hot, so it could be tough on the tires. But this year, the performance values change a lot from one track to another, so we’ll see how the car behaves here,” he said.

The interviewer finally asked if the work done in Zandvoort during the first practice session (aimed at understanding the car’s difficulties) helped the team prepare for this weekend. Sainz expressed his thoughts on this: “We have learned some interesting characteristics about the car’s performance on this type of track.”

“In some cases, things didn’t go as we wanted, which is why we are changing the setup from race to race and hope to find a better solution for this weekend to get more performance. Honestly, I believe it’s a broader issue than just the rear wing,” he concluded.

Carlos Sainz finished in third place in last year’s Singapore GP; we’ll see if he can repeat that performance and secure another podium finish for Ferrari.