Sainz: Saudi Arabian GP lessons key to understand Ferrari F1 car struggles
Carlos Sainz Jr believes the lessons from the Saudi Arabia Formula 1 race weekend will help him better understand his early-season struggles with Ferrari’s new 2022 car.
Sainz has started the year with back-to-back podium finishes, following home team-mate Charles Leclerc in Bahrain to complete a Ferrari 1-2 before taking third in Saudi Arabia.
But Sainz has been open about his difficulty in matching Leclerc through the early part of the year, calling Bahrain his “most difficult weekend” as a Ferrari driver.
Sainz was reluctant to reveal what his exact struggles with the F1-75 car were, but said that driving the Jeddah track twice in the space of four months was a useful way to see where he was behind compared to last year.
“This has been one of the best experiences year so far, experience in terms of just going to a track that 100 days ago, I was here with a super high level of confidence with last year's car,” Sainz said after the race in Saudi Arabia.
“I was super-weak in quali and in the race. And I knew exactly what to expect from the car and what the car was giving me.
“One hundred days later, I come back and in corners where last year I was very strong, this year, I seem to be struggling quite a bit more and I'm not driving the car the way that it should be driven.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Together with the car not giving me exactly a feeling that I need for my driving, this combination of things is what I'm working on this week. And I think I've made a step forward and I've made a step in the right direction for the race.
“But I must say that has also given me the awareness of the two or three type of corner, the two or three places, that last year I was feeling so confident and comfortable that this year I'm not.
“It has given me good data points to work on and become stronger for the future.”
Despite his struggles fully understanding the new Ferrari car, Sainz sits second in the championship after the first two races, 12 points behind Leclerc and seven points clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Sainz qualified third in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, never finishing more than two-tenths of a second shy of the pole position time.
Related video
Domenicali wants F1 to avoid "boomerang" American driver
2022 F1 Australian GP – How to watch, session timings and more
Porsche boss “as surprised as anyone” over Gulf-Williams F1 social media frenzy
Porsche’s head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach found it “funny” that streamlining its Instagram channels caused a Formula 1 social media speculation frenzy last month.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
Why Alfa Romeo has kept its blade roll hoop on 2023 F1 car
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has retained its unique blade roll hoop for the C43 but designed it to withstand load tests that the FIA will introduce in 2024.
Daly to attempt 2023 Daytona 500 with The Money Team
IndyCar driver Conor Daly has announced plans to enter the 2023 Daytona 500 with The Money Team, making his superspeedway debut in NASCAR Cup.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.