“We Were Just Unlucky”: Jittered After Raging Storm, Carlos Sainz Downplays Ferrari’s Yet Another Strategic Blunder

It’s no secret that the Brazilian Grand Prix has always been one of the most entertaining race weekends ever. However, the recent qualifying session at the Interlagos was an entirely different experience, even for the F1 personnel. With the raging storm at Brazil ruining the chances for Carlos Sainz, his recent statements showcase his jittered mood, as he tries to downplay Ferrari’s yet another strategy blunder.

The Brazilian Grand Prix 2023 saw quite a unique experience happen, as the weather at the Interlagos slowly went haywire. The clouds were so dark that it almost looked like a night race. Even the commentators were shocked as they stated that since the 1998 season, not once has the lights at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace come on, until 2023’s qualifying. Unfortunately, Carlos Sainz had double bad luck, as he got screwed by not only the weather but also his team, once again!

Carlos Sainz’s double bad luck during the qualifying of the Brazilian Grand Prix

Ferrari had an interesting outing at the qualifying of the Brazilian GP. Where, on the one hand, Charles Leclerc once again shined brightly with his qualifying pace and finished second. On the other, Carlos Sainz finished in an underwhelming 8th position. However, despite the session ending early due to the red flag, Carlos Sainz’s statements suggest Ferrari might just have had another blunder.

In his post-qualifying statements, Sainz was asked about his thoughts on the qualifying session. An honest Sainz stated, “We got unlucky there with the weather. We were one of the last cars to leave the pits, with the cold tyres and the temperature dropping and the rain coming and the gust of wind. We were just unlucky today because the pace in Q2 wasn’t too bad and, yeah, a bit disappointed obviously because we were very late to go out. We missed the chance to do a good lap.”

Although the weather worsened sooner than most teams expected, you simply can’t ignore the fact that Ferrari sent Sainz out quite late. Sainz further added, “I was P8 in the queue and I qualified P8. P9 and P10 in the queue qualified behind me, so it was clear that the later you were going, the slower the track was… Not ideal.” Oh well, another day, another blunder by Ferrari!

READ MORE: “I Will Take It”: Despite Depressing Confession, Charles Leclerc Refuses to Surrender Against Max Verstappen in Brazil

It seems like Ferrari can simply not stop themselves from having bad strategies. At this point, it has become hard to remember the last time Ferrari had a flawless race execution and strategy. And as far as the drivers are concerned, it seems like they have somewhat adjusted to this, as Sainz tried to downplay Ferrari’s strategies. When will all this stop?

Frederic Vasseur already focused on the sprint session

With Carlos Sainz finishing #8 at the qualifying, it seems like the Ferrari team principal might already be focusing on the upcoming session. He stated, “Carlos’ lap was not quite as good and so he will start from eighth. Tomorrow we will be focussing on the Sprint, which will be our first opportunity to see how the car behaves in race trim, which is where we have suffered most in recent races.” 

Well, in his ever so hypercritic nature, Vasseur seems to once again put the pressure on his drivers. But as the sprint shootout is only minutes away from commencement, it’ll be interesting to see whether this time around Sainz is once again undone by his team or not.

WATCH THIS STORY | Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz Achieve Rare F1 Feat With Colossal Disney Lightyear Collaboration

Carlos Sainz tries to downplay yet another blunder by Ferrari, as he gives an insight into his disappointment, following getting unlucky due to the raging storms at the Brazilian Grand Prix. With the Vasseur once again playing true to his nature, he shifts his focus onto the upcoming sprint shootout.