Carlos Sainz: “Soft tyres disastrous, I had graining from the first lap” | 2023 Qatar GP. Carlos Sainz opens up on the Qatar Sprint race .

Carlos Sainz finished the race in sixth place, which is viewed as a sigh of relief given the strategy adopted, but also a bitter pill to swallow because Mercedes was able to extend its lead in the standings with both of its drivers. The choice of the soft tires did not prove right for Ferrari, with evident graining from the very beginning, which then led them to suffer tire degradation compared to those starting on the mediums.

It was not an easy sprint for Ferrari, which finished only sixth with Carlos Sainz, while Charles Leclerc remained out of the points due to a five-second penalty for repeatedly crossing the white line during the race. A disappointing day, especially considering that Mercedes was able to finish fourth and fifth, thus gaining some valuable points in the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship.

The Scuderia paid the price for opting for soft tires at the start of the race. As explained by Carlos Sainz himself, they did not expect the soft compound to be so weak and susceptible to graining. The Ferrari engineers were aware that it might struggle over the long distance compared to the mediums, but they were confident it would hold up until the checkered flag. Additionally, the softer compound would provide an advantage in terms of grip at the start, along with the benefit of starting from the cleanest and most rubbered-in part of the grid.

“It was a difficult race. From the formation lap, I saw graining on my soft tires. It didn’t negatively impact the traction at the start because I managed to get a good launch and a good move in turn 1, but it was tough. The tires were good for two laps, and then we started losing 2 or 3 seconds with graining towards the end of the race. Fortunately, we didn’t have many laps today [excluding those under the Safety Car], otherwise, I think anyone starting on soft tires would have ended up at the back,” Sainz said at the end of the race.

“As for me, I thought that the soft tires would be an advantage. As a team, we did not expect that the soft tire would struggle so much, and we thought it would be an advantage at the start and then suffer a bit, but not 3 seconds slower as it turned out, so it was a bit of a surprise.”

“But on the soft tires, we haven’t learned anything; it was a disaster. Probably no one will touch it tomorrow. If we had more race laps today [excluding those under the Safety Car], we would have reached the back. It’s positive that we finished in the points, making probably the wrong choice, but we still lost points compared to Hamilton, who started far back but was on the medium tire,” added the Spanish driver, highlighting how the Mercedes driver was able to make up positions thanks to the more durable yellow-banded compound over the long run.

At the start, Sainz engaged in a duel with his teammate to defend third place, which was repeated in the final stages of the race in the battle for points. A matter mentioned by the Ferrari driver is the issue faced immediately after the restart following the first Safety Car, where difficulties with managing the battery made defending against rivals more challenging. “Not just Charles. We fought with everyone, and everyone defended and fought against each other. I had a lot of battery problems the lap after the Safety Car; my SOC [battery] discharged during the first of the three Safety Cars. So in the laps after the Safety Car, I was always in trouble because we don’t know why my software completely discharged the battery. It’s something we absolutely need to review tomorrow.”

For tomorrow’s race, a response from the Federation and Pirelli is expected, and they could impose a three-stop strategy and a maximum stint length of 20 laps if the analysis reveals tire issues during the sprint. Sainz doesn’t blame the Milan-based company for what happened but also emphasized how the organizers had two years to prepare for the event: “If three stops are necessary for safety, then we have to do it. Of course, I don’t appreciate or like the fact that we arrived here in 2021, and in the meantime, there have been two years to react to these defective curbs. The curbs were redone, and for some reason, the FIA insisted on this type of curb that is killing Pirelli tires. I’m not blaming Pirelli, but at the same time, it’s clear that something is not right.”

In case Pirelli confirms the need for three stops, Sainz can still count on three sets of medium tires and one set of hard tires to face the three pit stops. However, the Spaniard also pointed out that he did not appreciate the way the changes were communicated, just minutes before arriving at the track, because the FIA and the Milanese company were unable to make any decisions on Friday night due to the lack of track personnel.