Ferrari has taken a step back on specification at Silverstone
Carlos Sainz says that Ferrari has reverted to its earlier Imola spec aero package because it makes the SF-24 more predictable.
Sainz qualified only seventh at Silverstone after a difficult out lap at the end of Q3 saw him get tangled up with Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri, but he had been as high as fourth in Q1.
His team mate Charles Leclerc had an even more disappointing qualifying session, failing to progress from Q2 in 11th place.
“It’s very simple, the others are developing, and we had to revert to the Imola package,” said Sainz. “So if the others are developing, and you have to step back a bit, you’re always going to lack.”
Regarding the step back he said: “It’s not more performing. It feels more predictable, we know it’s not faster, but it’s more drivable.
“Our main three competitors, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, are developing. They are getting faster, and when we go to high-speed tracks, that is our weakness. We’re clearly a step behind, and we need to start getting better, because it’s clearly not ideal.”
Expanding on the specific weakness at faster venues he said: “I think we are clearly lacking in a track like Silverstone.
“We saw the high-speed of Barcelona and Austria we were clearly a step behind all of our competitors, and coming to the king of high-speed like Silverstone, we were always going to struggle.
“But in general, we’ve tried to keep cool, we’ve tried to put in the car the best possible package, and even though we didn’t maximise everything today, it clearly tells us that we have some homework to do the next few races, and that tomorrow might not be the easiest race, but we need to get the points.”
Sainz admitted that his Q3 session had been frustrating as he didn’t get an optimum lap.
“I thought we were on for a positive result,” he said. “But then as the track started to dry up, we started losing competitiveness. Proud and happy about Q1 and Q2, but Q3 showed that we are still lacking.
“I still think we didn’t maximise the Q3 result, given the out-lap issues that we had with Fernando and Oscar. We were all three battling to get to the flag, and obviously you’re never going to prep your tyres and everything well.”
Sainz starts behind the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg on Sunday, and hopes that he can get past the German in the early laps.
“Hopefully tomorrow I can pass Nico quickly,” he said. “But I think after that, very honestly speaking, I don’t think we have the pace to keep up with the guys in front, because they are super, super quick. But if something happens up front I’ll give it my best to keep up with them.”
Adam Cooper F1 