Name one driver on the current Formula 1 grid who’s had more ‘Did Not Start’ than Carlos Sainz. We’ll wait. The Qatar GP was a missed opportunity for Sainz and Ferrari. The Scuderia was coming off the back of four consecutive weekends where it outscored Mercedes, its competitor for P2 in the championship. It had the momentum to capitalize going into the Qatar GP, but as always, things don’t usually go well for Ferrari for extended periods. Its momentum over Mercedes shifted back in favor of the Brackley team, and Sainz could do nothing to stop it.

As soon as cars got the green light on Friday afternoon, Sainz’s SF-23 had been dodgy. He reported issues of misfiring and generally didn’t feel too comfortable driving the car. While he worked around those issues as best he could on Friday and Saturday, he didn’t even get a chance on Sunday. An hour before the race started, a Ferrari spokesperson said, “Due to a fuel system issue on his car, Carlos will not take part in the Qatar GP.” Oh, Ferrari, when will you learn?

Carlos Sainz got hard done by Frederic Vasseur & Co.

After two amazing qualifying performances in Monza and Singapore, where Sainz qualified on pole, Suzuka was a little bit of a letdown. But if Suzuka was a letdown, Qatar was even worse. Having struggled on Friday, the Spaniard could only manage a P12 for Sunday’s race. Despite that, he was confident he could make the best of the situation. But speaking after his DNS, Sainz told F1, “We are disappointed as today was a lost opportunity. We all know motorsport can be cruel at times, and today, I got a taste of the worst of it. It’s a pity because I think I could have run a good race today.”

Former Ferrari General Manager Peter Windsor gave his thoughts on the situation, criticizing the Frederic Vasseur operation. In his post-race debrief, Windsor said, “One hour before the race, Ferrari announced that Carlos Sainz wouldn’t be starting due to what they call a ‘fuel system problem.’ This is a 2023, super complicated, unbelievably sophisticated Grand Prix car. Fuel system problem couldn’t be fixed. Carlos Sainz out of the Grand Prix, unable to start. That hasn’t happened for a long time.”

“I’ve been around in Formula 1 for long enough to remember the occasions when fuel problems were solved on the grid and the car got off. It seemed bizarre to me that an hour before the race, they said, ‘No, can’t fix this. Impossible.’ So a great shame for Ferrari only to have one car,” Windsor concluded. Given his performances during the Sprint Saturday, Sainz knew he could’ve had a good race. Windsor thought so, too, even saying how Sainz could’ve beaten Leclerc. But Sainz didn’t even get the opportunity because Ferrari couldn’t fix a problem it ideally should’ve.

Read More: Carlos Sainz Vents Frustration at “Nervous” Ferrari After Charles Leclerc Surprisingly Outclasses Him

After calling Ferrari out on the Sainz situation, Windsor expressed his disappointment in Leclerc as well.

Sunday at the Qatar GP was “not a good day for Ferrari at all”

After the race, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur said, “We can’t be satisfied with how things went this weekend because we have lost points to our closest rival, and we were unable to get Carlos to the grid because of a reliability problem.” Let’s analyze how the race went. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided on Lap 1. With Hamilton out of contention, Charles Leclerc should’ve ideally finished ahead of Russell, considering he was running last after Lap 1. Well, that didn’t happen, and the Monegasque finished in P5 behind Russell in P4.

It was no secret that Mercedes had the better race pace in Qatar. Even so, Leclerc running in the top 5 after Lap 1 compared to Russell’s P19 should’ve amounted to something. Pirelli even made it easy for Ferrari to not mess up strategy by laying out a pit stop plan. With Mercedes outscoring Ferrari by 2 points, the Brackley team now has a 22-point lead over the Scuderia. Speaking about this, Windsor said, “Very disappointing, really, to get blown away by George [Russell] after the incident he had. Fair enough [Ferrari] got beaten by McLaren, but [Leclerc] shouldn’t have gotten beaten by George. Not a good day for Ferrari at all.”

Watch This Story: What has become an Incessant Problem for Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz in Ferrari’s F1 Challenger? 

How do you think Ferrari would’ve fared had Carlos Sainz participated in the Qatar GP?