Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz’s exponential growth between Monza and Singapore can be traced back to the summer break, thanks to a meeting held with engineers to understand areas of improvement and how to put together a perfect weekend. Promises were indeed kept in great style, with the Spaniard in fantastic form from Zandvoort onwards, culminating in two consecutive pole positions and the extraordinary first-place finish in Marina Bay, marking his first win of the season for both him and Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz at the peak of his form thanks to a meeting with engineers during the summer break.
“I believe that in terms of understanding the car and driving, there was already a decent feeling before the summer break,” explained the Spaniard after his success in Singapore.
“I sat down with my engineers during the summer break, and we said, ‘Okay, what can we do to start putting together the entire weekend because it’s clear that we have a lot of pace. We were doing some good things, but we never managed to put everything together.'”
“So let’s see what we can do to improve this aspect and start having consistent performances in the second half, because the potential is clearly there this year. And yes, Zandvoort was a very good weekend. Monza was almost perfect, and here it seems to have been the perfect one.”
His fifth-place finish in the Netherlands was just the prelude to an exploit that would see Carlos Sainz then step onto the podium at Monza after an unexpected pole position and triumph in Singapore, at the end of a tightly contested Grand Prix battle with Norris and the two Mercedes.
If the result at Monza could be somewhat predictable, given the layout of the Italian circuit, what was seen in Marina Bay left even the Maranello technicians astounded. Furthermore, Carlos’s performance is even more remarkable when considering the difficulties faced by Charles Leclerc during the weekend.
“I am very happy and proud that when you work and analyze, you also have the speed that I had this weekend,” adds the Spaniard. “It’s something that always pays off. Now we have managed to put everything together. I’m very happy for the engineers, for the mechanics, for the team, for everyone.”
However, despite the victory, Carlos Sainz prefers to stay grounded for the upcoming races: “Honestly, I don’t think the victory in Singapore means much. I think this year will be a bit like this. We’ve had two great weekends in a row, but I believe the two tracks we’ve been to have suited our car. Especially this one, it’s a high-downforce track.”
Ferrari is expected to introduce a new floor specification at Suzuka as part of the development program aimed at the 2024 car. With Red Bull likely to return to the front, Carlos’s goal is to achieve a third consecutive podium.
