Carlos Sainz says he has had to adapt to Ferrari to make it work, as he adds on Charles Leclerc and the team’s reputation.
From outside, it all seems like that Sainz has had a sound season. But the Spaniard notes that it wasn’t hunky-dory as it was seen from the outside. He states that the car did give him headaches and that he has had to adapt to it all-through.
It was not that he thoroughly enjoyed driving even though he secured the lone non-Red Bull win. But overall, he thinks Ferrari did pulled it up in the second half of 2023. “A lot,” he said to AS, when asked about the car. “It has been said that it is a car that suits me well, that I like it. Honestly, it has given not only me headaches.
“My teammate, Ferrari, it is very difficult to understand. I do not enjoying driving it, I have had to adapt to many things and I have had to try many set-up things. I hope that in 2024 it will be more versatile and easier to carry and tune up. That we have a better racing car. On the other side, the second half of the season proves the improvements.
“We set ourselves the goal of maximizing the car we had, we made fewer mistakes and a lot of things happened outside of our control, but we managed to maximize the weekend and get the performance out of the car quite well,” summed up Sainz, who noted that the pairing that Ferrari has had in the last few seasons has been solid.
He has respect for Leclerc and they have had fewer incidents on the grid against each other. “Perhaps I am influenced by the fact that I am one of the two drivers and I will think yes, I will recommend Ferrari yes,” said Sainz. “But in addition to being fast and good, I do know that I get on very well with Charles.
“We respect each other a lot on the track and we put Ferrari ahead. We have been together for three years and there has not been an incident on the track. We went out to all the races fourth and fifth, first and second, always close to each other. I think that all the other teams will see the line-up as a strong point for Ferrari.
“I don’t know if there is a side in the media or among the fans that thinks that having two fast drivers together, close to each other, is a negative thing. But if you go to the ten main F1 teams, and all the people who really understand this sport, and ask them what the ideal situation is in terms of driver lineup, they will tell you that you should always have the two fastest possible, and that they are also respected and there are no problems. If we are the two fastest it is impossible to know, but we have respected each other,” summed up Sainz.
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s Frederic Vasseur on in-season testing, sprint weekend
Here’s Frederic Vasseur on no rush to extend his drivers’ contract
Here’s Frederic Vasseur praising Red Bull’s performant culture
Here’s Carlos Sainz on Ferrari’s qualifying run masking race performance
Here’s Frederic Vasseur pleased with Ferrari not overreacting
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