“No idea what to expect from Jeddah”: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz predicts an uncertain and close tussle between the midfield cars at the Saudi Arabian GP

Carlos Sainz believes that the midfield cars will be very close to each other while racing at next week’s Saudi Arabian GP. 

Formula 1 makes it’s debut in Saudi Arabia next weekend. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the middle eastern country is expected to be the fastest street circuit in the world. It’s high-speed layout suits Mercedes on paper, while Red Bull will also be looking to be on their heels this Sunday.

The midfield battle on the other hand will be much closer, according to Sainz. Ferrari have been strong on the high downforce circuits all year long. McLaren too, will be looking to make amends after a disastrous triple header.

Pierre Gasly has been very consistent with his Alpha Tauri all season long while Fernando Alonso and Alpine will be flying high after a stellar Qatar GP two weeks ago.

All these factors considered, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz seems to think that the midfield battle will be very close in Jeddah.

“The last few tracks, it’s a bit unknown. Obviously Jeddah we have no idea what we are going to find there.” said the Spaniard.

“It looks like a very high-speed circuit. We have seen in a high-speed circuit that with cars like Alpine, McLaren, and Alpha Tauri, all of a sudden the field compresses a lot when it’s a high speed circuit. So it could be a very tight battle in Jeddah.”

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Abu Dhabi will probably be faster than it used to be, says Carlos Sainz

The 27 year old expects the next two races to be very challenging. Jeddah is a new circuit that all drivers will have to get used to. Meanwhile, the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi has also gone through lots of changes over the summer.

Sainz thinks those alterations will play a big role.

“In Abu Dhabi, with the new changes they’ve done to the track also, it looks like a higher speed track than what it used to be.” said the former McLaren driver.

“There are less chicanes, and more high speed nature, and this could also bring the whole midfield back together.”

“So it will be a very, very tough couple of races. But if we continue working as we are. Working as a team, I think we can be confident that we keep bringing points back and delivering like we are trying to.” he added.

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Ferrari’s battle with McLaren for P3 is far from over

The Italian team have been battling for P3 in the Championship with rivals McLaren in 2021. Their year has been a story of two halves. McLaren looked much stronger in the opening rounds but the Maranello based team have picked off massively in the latter stages.

As of now, Ferrari leads the squad from Woking by 39.5 points with just 2 races go. A lot of people would confidently say that the Scuderia have 3rd place secured but Sainz does not think so.

“Obviously the championship is not over yet. There are two races to go, and we are really focusing on trying to be the best in the last two ones.” the Madrid born driver said.

“But if I look at where we were last year, sixth, with little points in the championship. I think we made the most we could do with the current regulations, and the fact most of the car had also very limited opportunities of development as well.”

“Overall, I think that the team has made great progress with what was possible to do. For that, I am so happy because third position is a great output for the efforts.” Carlos Sainz concluded.