Carlos Sainz agrees that Ferrari has “nothing to lose” heading into the Formula 1 constructors’ title showdown with McLaren in Abu Dhabi.
After last weekend’s race in Qatar the team is now only 21 points behind its British rival, with up to 44 to be won with a one-two finish and a fastest lap.
Sainz feared last weekend that it would be “mission impossible” if Ferrari didn’t eat into McLaren’s advantage on race day in Qatar.
However a second place for Charles Leclerc and sixth for Sainz himself kept the fight open.
“I think it’s still going to be tough,” said the Spaniard when asked by this writer about the team’s prospects. “Twenty-one points requires a perfect weekend from Ferrari and a bad weekend from McLaren.
“But we’ve seen worse things in racing, so we’re going to give it our best shot. I think if we nail a good weekend, we could still make it happen.”
Asked if Ferrari had nothing to lose he said: “Exactly. That’s why we’re going to give it our absolute best, nothing to lose. We’re going to throw everything in to make sure we give ourselves the best chance.”
Sainz had a messy Qatar GP that saw him forced to complete a full lap with a punctured front tyre, but thanks to attrition elsewhere he managed to climb back to sixth by the flag.
“I think we couldn’t have got it worse,” he said. “We had a puncture pretty much coming out of the last corner, or around the last sector. It meant I needed to do a full lap on a punctured tyre, losing a lot of race time. Then we had a slow pit stop during that slow puncture.
“And then as soon as I came out of the pits, they put the safety car, so everyone can take the stop. And I’ve lost all that time with the puncture and the pit stop under racing conditions. And then a safety car comes out exactly while I’m exiting the pit. So it couldn’t have been any worse.
“At the same time, I started P6 I finished P6 with everything that happened, and I had to race, probably with some damage in the car for the rest of the race.
“A bit of a nightmare day, and bringing home a P6 maybe it’s not as terrible as it now feels, but at least the other car could get maximum points available for Charles. It’s damage limitation, with everything that happened.”
Sainz believes that several factors contributed to the puncture, which happened just after Valtteri Bottas ran over Ale Albon’s lost mirror.
“I think it was a bit of a perfect storm,” he said. “I think everyone was running very low on the front left tyre in terms of tread. I think no one had much tread left. This exposes, obviously the tyre and the carcass to a puncture, and then the sharp kerbs, the gravel on the track, the debris, it could have been any of them, the cause of the puncture, we will never know.
“I just know that I caught the worst of it because I had to do a full lap with a puncture, plus a slow pit stop, plus the damage, plus the safety car when I came out of the pits.
“We managed to bring the fight into the next race. At the same time, on my side of the garage, we would have finished P4, P3 depending on the race scenario, so we lost points that might be crucial for the end of the championship.
“But at the same time if they tell you you’re going to start the race P6, you’re going to have a puncture, then they’re going to put a safety car when you have finished the puncture, and you’re still going to finish P6, you maybe don’t even believe it!”
Adam Cooper F1 