Carlos Sainz talks about how hard it is to drive his Ferrari in Bahrain compared to Barcelona due to a lower grip caused by more heat.
Ferrari had an impressive first day on the track, as they finished way up in the final classification. So far, the Maranello based team has shown a powerful engine and are expected to have a good season ahead.
However, Carlos Sainz mentions that everything wasn’t perfect in Bahrain on the first day. He complained about Ferrari’s lower level of grip compared to what he had in Barcelona. He points out that the warmer temperature played a role in it.
116 laps completed and we’re waving the chequered flag on day 1 of #F1Testing 🏁#essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/26OyO19g6O
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 10, 2022
“It feels, in Bahrain, let’s say, a bit worse than in Barcelona because it is a lot warmer, and the tarmac has a lot less grip. It feels a lot trickier to drive in Bahrain than in Barcelona, but this is normal. We have this every year.
“The car, in the corners, feels different to last year but it also feels like we are doing progress and we know better what to do after every lap.”
Also read: Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz hopes for a solution to ‘annoying’ porpoising issues in F1 cars
Bagged critical targets
Sainz further claimed that Ferrari managed to do crucial things. It was an excellent first day of testing, but Ferrari has a few more objectives to cover.
“[It was] another good day of testing for us, continuing where we left off in Barcelona, with similar run plans but starting to check different set-up windows,” he continued.
“We missed out on a final run on C3s, but in general, we managed to test two or three things that were very important for us, and we managed to put together a good day of running with no issues.
Where does Ferrari lie this season?
After a satisfactory 2021 campaign, Ferrari aims for some real progress in 2022 before finally contesting for the title. This year, team boss Mattia Binotto targets to have a few wins in his kitty to establish winning in the team.
That means they are targeting to be the best among the rest and would not be aiming to join the Red Bull-Mercedes supremacy club. From 2023, Ferrari aims to go for the title race, and that is why 2022 is a crucial buildup year.
Also read: Former Ferrari boss on how Fernando Alonso made the pit-wall feel like ‘idiots’
