Scuderia Ferrari has confirmed itself as the second force in this early part of the 2024 Formula 1 season by securing another podium, the fourth in a row, thanks to Carlos Sainz. The Madrid-born driver, starting from fourth position, wasted no time in demonstrating how much better his pace was compared to that of Lando Norris, who started third alongside him.
During the race, especially in the first and third stints (done with Medium and Hard tires respectively), Carlos Sainz showed a very competitive pace. Certainly, not yet enough to beat the Red Bulls in the track conditions found this weekend, but the disadvantage at Suzuka was halved compared to what was seen last year.
A small consolation, but it must be a starting point to continue confidently in this season: when opportunities like that in Melbourne arise again, Ferrari will be able to exploit them.
“I had a good race, to be honest, because it was quite tough with the tire degradation, but then suddenly the clouds came, the degradation decreased a lot, and suddenly I thought that maybe one stop was faster, so we switched to the second one,” declared the Ferrari driver at the end of the Suzuka race. Today I had to overtake many cars, and overtaking was difficult, as always in Suzuka: you have to pass the final chicane to enter the first corner well. I managed to execute my moves, but it was tough out there.” – the Spaniard pointed out at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
With a rather delayed final pit stop compared to most rivals, Carlos Sainz’s race seemed compromised for a moment. However, the good pace of SF-24 number 55 quickly saw him pass the Mercedes, then the McLaren of Lando Norris, and finally the twin Red Bull of Charles Leclerc, who himself had a great race in terms of pace.
“Honestly, I thought it was possible, but it would have been very difficult to get back into fourth or third position. It was very difficult to pass the Mercedes in the second stint and to follow the others. I knew I needed a big speed delta to catch up with Lando and Charles, and in the end, we succeeded. I was fast on the hard tire. I really liked how the hard tire gave me a good feeling to push, and I could make my moves and get the podium.”
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The next scheduled race will be held in China, returning to the calendar after several years of absence mainly due to COVID-19-related reasons. It will also be the first weekend with the Sprint format, so another unknown, but one that doesn’t seem to scare Carlos Sainz.
“I think it will be a tough weekend for everyone. Sprinting on a track we haven’t visited for five years with only one practice session will be a challenge. It might even be resurfaced, so it will be an interesting challenge. Yeah, let’s try to have a couple of good weeks to keep training and recovering, and then I’ll be back in China at full throttle.” – the Spanish driver concluded.
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