Carlos Sainz Is “Confident” About Matching McLaren’s Pace; Being at “Right Place at Right Time” Would Be the Key

Ferrari entered the Azerbaijan GP on the back of a victory at their home race in Monza, and spirits were high during Free Practice on Friday. Carlos Sainz expressed the Maranello-based team’s confidence in matching McLaren’s pace. However, there was a catch.

“Tomorrow in Q1, Q2, and Q3 with the soft tyres we will see where we are,” Sainz said to Motorsport. “But we are confident that we have the pace to fight with McLaren…” 

Sainz also noted that Ferrari could challenge Mercedes and Red Bull, which would delight the Tifosi hoping for back-to-back victories. At the same time, he stressed the importance of timing.

Several cars, including Leclerc’s, went off the dusty track while pushing the limits. Sainz explained how this could impact the qualifying session, emphasizing that “being in the right place at the right time, especially if there are yellow or red flags,” will be crucial.

That’s how you bounce back @Charles_Leclerc tops FP2 ⏱️#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/mR1Ma9lIwR

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 13, 2024

The practice wasn’t entirely smooth for Ferrari. Leclerc crashed in FP1 due to the dusty conditions, but the team made a strong comeback in FP2, with Leclerc topping the timing charts and Sainz finishing in P4. McLaren, on the other hand, struggled throughout.

Norris was P4 in FP1 but fell to P17 in FP2, partly due to being on a different run plan in the second session. Despite this, the MCL38 didn’t show significant speed, even with Oscar Piastri behind the wheel. The quickest McLaren in both sessions was about half a second slower than the fastest car.

“We’re quite a long way off,” Norris said after FP2. “I’m having to push way too much to try and get a lap time out of it. I think we have quite a lot to find, honestly, compared to Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.”

Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez finished FP2 in the top three, with both being less than a tenth slower than Leclerc in FP2. This suggests that Mercedes and Red Bull are also in contention for the pole position.

However, with no driver securing a clear lap and the dusty offline conditions expected to improve after FP3 and the F2 Sprint, a clearer picture of the teams’ actual pace will emerge during Saturday’s qualifying.