Spanish driver Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari opines that Mercedes cannot afford to make any errors in their battle with the Maranello outfit for the second position in the 2023 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, with just two races to go until the end of the Formula One campaign.
A team’s finishing position in the Constructors’ standings directly impacts the amount of prize money it can claim at the conclusion of a Formula One season. Currently, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari is trailing Mercedes by a 20-point margin, with Ferrari amassing 362 points and the Silver Arrows leading the pack with 382 points.
Considering that there are 88 points available in the final two races, the Las Vegas Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Ferrari man believes that while Mercedes may have the advantage in terms of race performance, the Italian side can leverage the situation by applying pressure.
“Given the points are done on Sunday and that’s where the Mercedes comes stronger and we are the weakest, I think for sure they have a bit of the upper hand. But at least we’re managing to keep the pressure on and they cannot afford to make any mistakes because we’re there to capitalise on them. It’s a fun battle. We’re always very close to each other in the races. Normally, it’s them chasing us or overtaking us in the race and hopefully we can reverse that in the last three races and at least not get overtaken and manage to finish ahead because that’s where the points are given.” – the Spanish driver pointed out, ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Following the most recent race, which was held at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil, Scuderia Ferrari drew some optimism from the performance, indicating that Mercedes continues to struggle on race tracks with high tire degradation. Charles Leclerc identified the primary weakness in Mercedes as its tendency to lose positions during races.
His Maranello teammate further explained the challenges currently confronting Ferrari in terms of tire management. These issues tend to affect the team most significantly towards the conclusion of a race stint. Carlos Sainz explains why pressure is on Mercedes amid Ferrari duel for second place face more pressure in the final two races of the season, as the pair battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship.
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“We always tend to do better in qualifying than we do in the race. Then we have the inconsistency of the stints. There are some stints during the year that we’ve been very good in the race, and then other stints that we’ve lost out a lot depending on the compound, on track conditions and the way we treat the tyre.” – Carlos Sainz concluded.
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