Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has pinpointed the main areas where the Italian side will have to significantly improve ahead of the next Formula 1 campaign season, after what overall can be considered a disappointing year for the Maranello team given the high expectations following the start of the championship.
The F1-75 started the season as the fastest car on the grid and Charles Leclerc secured two race wins in the first three rounds of the championship, only to be hindered by several power unit technical failures and wrong strategy decisions from the Maranello team in the first part of the season.
Red Bull was able to quickly recover the ground and then consistently remained ahead of the Italian side during the year, while Mercedes also came close to Ferrari’s pace in the final part of the campaign, after bringing late upgrades which allowed them to secure one race win, at the Interlagos circuit thanks to George Russell.
Carlos Sainz feels his side was “out-developed” by their rivals during the season, which is the main area Ferrari will have to focus on ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 championship.
“We’re going to focus on that and come back stronger as a team because we got out-developed by Red Bull and Mercedes and we were not exactly the best at executing races,” – the Spaniard said after the last round of the season, at the Yas Marina circuit, as he looked back on the 2022 campaign, his second with Ferrari – “I think if we improve these couple of areas, we can be very strong next year.” – the Spanish driver continued.
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While Carlos Sainz took three podium finishes in the opening five rounds this year, the other two races were marked by mistakes that eventually turned into retirements at both the Australian and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix (Imola).
The former McLaren driver feels the first part of 2022 was “tricky”, while he was getting to grips with the F1-75 and was adapting his driving style to the new generation of cars, but still describes the season as “special” thanks to the result at the Silverstone circuit, where he secured his maiden Formula One victory.
“First half was a bit trickier, I did get my first win and that’s just going to be a special season because of that, but I know I have a lot more potential than what I did this season.” – he added.
Carlos Sainz pointed out that his understanding of Scuderia Ferrari’s 2022 challenger midway through the championship was the key factor that allowed him to score more consistent results in the second half: “My style and understanding the setup of the car is a lot better now in the second half instead of the first half, and this makes me a stronger driver.” – the Spaniard concluded.
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