Carlos Sainz Hopes for “A Chance of Winning the Next Couple” of Races

Charles Leclerc’s win at the Italian GP has come as a shock to many. That is because of the slump in performance the team was struggling through since his win in Monaco. However, the upgrades seemed to have worked well, as did the brave strategy deployed by the Ferrari pit wall. This has given Carlos Sainz a reason to believe that the winning run may continue for the upcoming two races.

Sainz, who celebrated his 30th birthday today, finished P4 behind the McLaren duo. However, he hopes to have a chance at winning the next two races in Baku and Singapore, given the nature of the tracks — which he feels is similar to the one in Monza. The Spaniard is counting on the slow-speed corners on both circuits to play to the strengths of Ferrari’s car.

Speaking after the race, the Spaniard said, “We need to understand the next two races are similar to Monza. They have no medium or high-speed corners, which is where we struggle, so we might have a chance of winning the next couple [of races].”

Owing to high tire degradation in Monza, Sainz wasn’t sure about the one-stop strategy. However, as the drivers managed the tires well, the 30-year-old lauded the team’s strategists for taking the risk and making it work. One would not have expected such a brave strategy to come from the Maranello side just one year ago.

Ferrari have suffered from some outrageous strategies and tire choice calls. The team radio further revealed just how much pressure the strategists were under. Under the leadership of Frederic Vasseur, however, that pressure seems to have gone down significantly. The personnel evidently enjoy more freedom to make calls and not worry about consequences if they do not work.

Vasseur lauds the team for Leclerc’s triumph in Monza

Vasseur talked about how the qualifying turned out to be disappointing for Ferrari. However, he was expecting that as Ferrari is performing better in the race trim than on one-lap runs. Nevertheless, the French boss was appreciative of the team overcoming the tire degradation factor, which happened to be their biggest weakness in 2023.

He said, “Honestly, last year it was our biggest weakness and I think it’s one of the big advantages of the team this season. It was already the case last week in Zandvoort. We are quite consistent on the tires, and the drivers are doing very good tire management also. It’s a good feeling.”

Vasseur further lauded Sainz’s efforts, whose feedback on the tires helped the strategists manage Leclerc’s race better. That ultimately helped them make the one-stop strategy work.