Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has confirmed that the Italian side decided not to go for an ultra-low downforce Formula 1 set-up in the second round of the 2023 Formula One championship, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which was held at the Jeddah Corniche circuit last Sunday, opting to run with a configuration similar to the one seen at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The Maranello team’s difficult start to the new Formula One championship unfortunately continued in Saudi Arabia: Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had to settle for sixth and seventh place at the Jeddah Corniche circuit, a very poor overall result considering that this track was expected to suit the characteristics of the SF-23 single-seater, taking into consideration the car’s low drag and high top-speed features.
Yet Red Bull was once again in a league of their own and Scuderia Ferrari proved slower as compared even to Aston Martin and Mercedes, on a Sunday afternoon in which Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had no change of fighting for a podium finish due to the poor race pace on the hard tyres.
The Spaniard has confirmed that Ferrari made the call to use similar downforce levels to Sakhir in the second round of the season, despite the fact that they are two very different race circuits with different demands and characteristics.
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Carlos Sainz on SF-23 set-up
“We didn’t run as low drag as in Bahrain,” he explained, when asked to look back on how the Maranello team prepared the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – “Actually we ran a very similar rear wing to in Bahrain, and this is why we maybe weren’t as fast on the straights as in Bahrain, where we maybe had lower downforce than the others. Here, we were equal. It is not our limitation, the drag or the power, it is not that. It is race pace, it is [tyre] degradation, some sensitivities that the car has in cornering that we know are not the right ones. But we know and will develop them.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
Carlos Sainz on possible Alpine threat
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who ended the Jeddah race in P8, just behind the two SF-23 cars of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc admitted after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that the team considering challenging Ferrari for position following the Safety Car period, despite the fact that nothing came of it.
But could Alpine in fact be able to challenge Ferrari in the next races? Carlos Sainz was quick in dismissing this possibility:
“I trust my team, I trust the development plan, I trust the conclusions that we’re taking, I trust Ferrari, Ferrari is Ferrari. We will develop, it is just we’ve had a rough start to the season, this confirms it, but the alarms don’t need to come up. It’s just we didn’t do a very good job. I haven’t had the strongest first two races either, but I dropped the points, and now it’s time to do a step up.” – the Spaniard added.
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