Carlos Sainz hopes Ferrari SF-24 updates don’t come too late amid Red Bull fight. Carlos Sainz hopes that the upcoming Ferrari upgrades.

“I don’t think they’re that far ahead,” Carlos Sainz had stated in the immediate post-race, comparing Ferrari and Red Bull’s performances in Japan, the fourth round of the F1 championship. The Spaniard believes in the improvement of the SF-24 and displays great ambitions in the press conference.

The maturity test is passed. Ferrari in Japan is found ready, although Saturday’s qualifying had thrown the Ferrari fans into despair. Sacrificing qualifying to favor race pace turned out to be a timely choice for the red team, which – in the tricky Suzuka – sealed its position as the second force in the championship.

Optimism and ambition are the prevailing feelings in Carlos Sainz’s mind at the Japanese checkered flag. The Ferrari driver is galvanized by the SF-24’s performance in the Land of the Rising Sun, hoping for a tighter fight with Red Bull and Max Verstappen: “They will certainly have an advantage in the first third of the season, until we bring one or two updates.”

The first of the developments will likely be flaunted by Ferrari in the home race at Imola. For Carlos Sainz, “these upgrades will allow us to challenge Red Bull more consistently.”

The advent of updates could, however, prove to be late. The Spanish driver has a regret that could become rather big given the past season, mostly a trial used intelligently to understand and improve the car. When the developments arrive, “we may challenge Red Bull more consistently, but by then it could be too late for their advantage in the championship.”

But even without tweaks, the red team has been able to challenge Max and Checo. Carlos Sainz has the recipe to beat Red Bull before the updated packages: “In the meantime, we need more Australias! However, it doesn’t seem to me that they, as a team, often make mistakes: it’s a pity, because I also lost a race (in Saudi Arabia, ed) and this could cost me and the team dearly in the championship.”

“We have one less race but we will do our best,” Carlos continues. “It’s my last year at Ferrari, I have nothing to lose, we will try everything to recover,” Carlos Sainz concludes at the end of the world championship event in Japan.