Sainz: Leclerc can cope with "snappier" Ferrari F1 car more easily

The Spaniard will start the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix in third place after qualifying 0.416 seconds adrift of polesitter Leclerc, with defending champion Max Verstappen splitting the pair.

That result was determined by Leclerc recovering from an early Q3 spin to post the fastest time of the weekend while Verstappen abandoned his final lap owing to a DRS problem aboard his Red Bull RB18.

Leclerc's scare was the result of him having clipped the Turn 14 kerb at Barcelona, much like his spin to lose third place in Imola after he made a mistake while chasing Sergio Perez.

Asked by Autosport if the F1-75 was therefore unforgiving, Leclerc took responsibility for the error saying he "tried to do too much" and the spin was "nothing to do with the car".

But stablemate Sainz, who pipped Leclerc to fifth in the 2021 drivers' championship, reckoned he did find the new ground-effect machine to be more of a knife-edge racer.

With the rear particularly difficult to handle, Sainz reckoned Leclerc's greater ability to play with the car was a large factor in the early gap between the Ferrari pair.

Sainz said: "I do find it a bit tricky, snappier and a bit more pointy than last year's car.

"Obviously, that's one of the reasons why probably I'm still not quite there. I can see Charles is obviously happier with it and playing with it a lot more than I am.

"[That is] giving him that lap time edge over me recently. But it's a fast car, which is the important thing.

"I just need to get used to it, used to this feeling of playing with the rear a lot more. I'm doing my homework in the simulator and at the track every time I go out.

"I try to push myself to get used to this balance, but I will get there."

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, after Qualifying

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Sainz did warn the hot temperatures in Spain were hurting his progress with the rear as the tyres were degrading quicker.

But both he and Leclerc reckoned Ferrari had "found something" after its underwhelming race simulations in FP2.

Leclerc's average lap on the medium tyre on Friday was four tenths slower than Verstappen's stint.

That prompted Ferrari to turn in another race simulation in final practice on Saturday rather than focus on qualifying preparation as per the other teams.

Leclerc reckoned this move had paid off ahead of the race, saying: "We've done a bit of a long run [in FP3], which was much better compared to yesterday.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have any other references because we were the only ones doing long runs.

"But it feels like we found something. Whether it's going to be enough to challenge Max and Checo, I don't know. But the feeling was better."