Carlos Sainz has been bullish about Ferrari making up the deficit to Red Bull in 2024. However, the Spaniard has shed light on a key concern that is possibly misleading the Prancing Horse. Sainz highlighted that the qualifying data with which they perceive one-lap pace as their strength may be misleading them in the wrong direction.
According to F1 Maximaal, the #55 driver told international media, “You see that we can beat them or match them on Saturday, you see that you are not far away, but in the race, it is half a second per lap, half a minute in the race, it is all misleading.”
Sainz is probably suggesting Ferrari to step back and look at the wider picture to understand where they are lacking. He elaborated on how the Milton Keynes outfit has the crucial key advantage in their “versatility on Sundays”.
The former McLaren driver also cited that Ferrari only believed they were closer to Red Bull back in June 2022. However, since then they have taken the wrong direction and went multiple steps back in 2023.
Hence, the Italian team needs to figure out a balance to improve their race pace while trying not to lose too much single-lap pace. The 2023 season’s final standings back Sainz’s claims that Ferrari dropped back relative to Red Bull.
With only a P3 finish and just 406 points as compared to Red Bull’s 860, Ferrari have a huge task on hand even if they have to achieve their 2022 level of competitiveness. Sainz’s recommendation to look at the bigger picture of long-run pace may be the key to this.
Carlos Sainz gears up for Ferrari’s acid test of pace before the 2024 season
Carlos Sainz highlighted how they are going to have an evaluation of the team’s progress on the 676 project (the 2024 car). This will help them analyze the car’s pace and understand how much of s step forward they are taking, and if in the right direction or not.
The latter aspect is crucial as per Sainz’s analysis. The Spaniard knows the importance of long-run pace to be better to be able to compete with Red Bull. Last time, Ferrari gave a tough fight and beat the Milton Keynes outfit before Sainz’s Singapore 2023 aberration was in early 2022.
Charles Leclerc was winning races while the Austrian outfit was riddled with reliability issues. However, soon these tables turned and it was the Maranello team who got heaps of reliability problems and their strategic fumbles worsened their case.
In 2023, the reliability concerns went away steadily, barring an unlucky and sad retirement for Leclerc in Bahrain. Meanwhile, as per the #55 driver, the team’s strategies also have improved.
However, there are other concerns for Ferrari that are now causing them troubles. Their tires were wearing out relatively faster in the races which impacted their strategies and long run pace overall.
Regardless, the expectations are still high in Maranello, with the perennial optimism of 2024 being their year. Whether this turns out to be true or not, only time will tell. For now, Ferrari will hope to make maximum gains till the season opener in Bahrain.
