Carlos Sainz out: why SF-23 technical issue was discovered late by Ferrari | 2023 Qatar GP. Why technical issue on Carlos Sainz's Ferrari SF-23 was discovered late in Qatar.

Ferrari noticed the issue with SF-23 number 55 just an hour before the start, the time when adding fuel to the tank is allowed. Fred Vasseur explained after the race what led to Carlos Sainz’s absence in the Qatar GP.

One hour before the Qatar Grand Prix began, Ferrari faced a chaotic situation that forced them to compete with only one car, that of Charles Leclerc, while the SF-23 of Carlos Sainz Jr. remained gloomily in the pit.

On Carlos Sainz’s car, a fuel leak was discovered just over an hour before the race. Ferrari’s mechanics raised the car to try to fix the issue. However, the limited time available and the nature of the problem prevented the Spaniard from starting the race. As a result, the sole responsibility of scoring as many points as possible and losing as little ground as possible to the Mercedes, with whom the Maranello team is competing for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, fell to Charles Leclerc.

After the race, Frédéric Vasseur gave an initial assessment of what had happened with Carlos’s Ferrari. According to him, the fuel leak is related to a violent passage over one of the track’s curbs at the Lusail International Circuit/

“Honestly, I don’t know; we need to investigate,” admitted Ferrari’s team principal after the race to Sky Sport. “We haven’t had time to take the tank off yet, but probably [it’s due to the curbs] because the leak seems significant, so there’s significant damage. It probably comes from the last laps of yesterday [Saturday, during the Sprint Race].”

The issue with Carlos Sainz’s SF-23 was discovered just over an hour before the start of the Qatar Grand Prix because Ferrari, like all other teams, chooses to add fuel to the tank as late as possible to prevent vaporization and maintain its characteristics. This happens when temperatures are very high, as was the case in the past weekend at Lusail. Teams prioritize performance over reliability.

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In Carlos Sainz‘s case, the situation matched the description above. With the fuel added just a few tens of minutes before the race to avoid vaporization, the fault was discovered late. It was too late to be fixed and allow the Spanish driver to participate in the 18th race of the 2023 Formula One season.

At the end of the Qatar weekend, Ferrari returns home with a haul of 13 points against Mercedes’ 21. This means that the Brackley team has climbed to 326 points compared to Ferrari’s 298. A 28-point difference that, as substantial as it may seem, still keeps the discussion alive for the second-place spot behind the unassailable Red Bull.