Despite Scuderia Ferrari showing strong performance in the Bahrain tests, which took place a few days ago at the Sakhir circuit, Carlos Sainz believes Red Bull is still “half a step ahead” of the competition with the RB20 single-seater.
Even with the SF-24’s noticeable improvement over last season’s F1 car, especially in terms of tire degradation, Ferrari remains extremely cautious just a week away from the season’s opening Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Despite recording the best time in the combined classification over the three days of testing, Carlos Sainz, like many of his peers, acknowledged the superiority of the RB20, which, in the hands of Max Verstappen, impressed not so much for its speed but for its incredible consistency in race pace.
RB20 Still Half a Step Ahead
Responding to recent comments by Helmut Marko, who suggested Ferrari was three-tenths of a lap slower than the RB20, the Spaniard said: “I don’t know if it’s about three-tenths, one-tenth, half a second. It’s impossible to know at this point with the fuel loads and engine modes.”
“However, I can already tell you that they have made a really good car. You can see from the design that it is a half step ahead of the others and that they had more time to develop it, considering the advantage they had last year.” – the Spanish driver pointed out.
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Despite admitting to being at a disadvantage, Carlos Sainz does not intend to focus too much on the rivals: “I think we had a strong day on the first day. This year we have brought a car that makes sense for our numbers, that makes sense for what we want or aim for. So, let’s give it some time and see where we are.” – he added.
“Are we afraid of the RB20? No, fear is not the right word,” Carlos Sainz added later. “Obviously, it’s clear they are very fast. We were fast too, but I think it’s too early to know.” – the Ferrari man concluded.
The true test is now less than a week away, with rumors in the paddock suggesting Ferrari could be the second strongest team at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, based on Friday’s race simulations in Bahrain.
The big unknown remains Mercedes, with the Brackley team having never conducted a proper simulation, almost as if to hide a potential much greater than what was shown by the W15 during the three days of testing available.
Source: f1ingenerale
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