Carlos Sainz analyzes Ferrari’s tough period
“Weather permitting, I want the podium.” Before revving up the engines in Hungary, Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz was very optimistic. And probably the Maranello team was too, considering that in theory, the Hungaroring circuit suits the characteristics of the SF-23 well.
However, the simulator data did not translate into track performance: the Italian side finished 70 seconds behind Max Verstappen and ended up as the fourth force today, behind McLaren and Mercedes.
The Spaniard, who had a great start but later had to yield to Sergio Perez and George Russell, analyzes Ferrari’s current negative phase with the usual clarity, announcing a change in approach for the Spa-Francorchamps Sprint weekend.
Carlos Sainz’s comments:
“We finished the race in the positions that we currently deserve, as was also the case in Silverstone, with our rivals like McLaren and Mercedes making progress,” said Carlos Sainz to Sky Sport F1. “Even though we are developing the car well, there are still some issues that we can’t improve. We struggled with the race pace on a track where we expected much better performance. We will probably approach Belgium with a different race philosophy and hope to do well again.” – the Spanish driver pointed out at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.
“This weekend ended as expected, similar to Silverstone. We need to understand why our rivals are making significant progress, McLaren and Mercedes have a superior race pace compared to ours. It’s something we have already seen, but in the race, we struggle with the hard tires and during the longer stints, we need to improve. It’s clear that this year’s car has weaknesses that we are not correcting quickly, but on these tracks with long corners, where we suffer with the balance, it’s difficult. We expected to perform better on this track, but clearly, it wasn’t the case.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded.
