Carlos Sainz Falls Back on Max Verstappen & Co.’s Strengths to Avoid Ferrari’s 2022 Blunder

With the 2023 F1 season almost at the gates, Scuderia Ferrari is confident of taking the fight to the defending champions Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Having high expectations, the Italian team is in hot pursuit of their first championship since 2008. However, star driver Carlos Sainz is cautious about how they move against the Red Bulls and wants to stick to the Milton-Keynes-based team’s strengths. Taking last year’s blunder as a lesson, the Spanish driver wants to move differently in 2023.

Speaking on the matter, Sainz told Motorsport Turkey, “What we learned very clearly last year is that winning the first race doesn’t mean you’re going to win the championship. And if you go out with both cars in the first race, you won’t lose the championship. Because that’s exactly what happened with Red Bull last year and we know the outcome.

“So no matter what happens in the first race, we have to be humble and stick to the plan to develop what you want to improve, because the championship was not won or lost in the first race. There are still 22 races,” the Ferrari driver further asserted.

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Despite winning the first two races in three outings, Scuderia Ferrari only managed to win twice in the next 19 races. This not only exposed the overconfidence of the team but also left them in a state of shock in 2022 as Red Bull went on to win 17 out of 22 races with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Carlos Sainz criticized the lack of timing for pre-season testing

As the development period is over now, it is time for the teams to showcase their progress over the winter. For this, the teams are given a period to test their cars before they are track-ready. However, Carlos Sainz, who is preparing himself for a marathon against Charles Leclerc, feels the amount of time that is given is not enough.

Talking about this, the former McLaren driver shared, “As pilots, we find it difficult to understand why the system is believed to be sufficient for a day and a half of preparation. Who decides that and why?

“I understand the cost involved, but driving a driver on the track is crucial to his condition, understanding of the car, even car safety and durability, so you need a little bit more than that. Hopefully, we’ll have more of that in the future,” concluded the Spaniard.

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F1, in association with FIA, gives the teams as well as drivers a three-day window where they can test their cars ahead of the first race of the season. The three-day window implies one and a half days for an individual driver.