A lot of scrap for Carlos Sainz on Sunday in Brazil: the winner from Mexico crashes the Ferrari in qualifying and the race, and wonders about the rain weakness of the SF-24
Last Sunday, Carlos Sainz was the beaming winner in Mexico, but in rainy Sao Paulo, the Ferrari star hit the ground running – or rather the barriers, twice in one day!
Sainz ended both qualifying and the race in Brazil with a crash: “Just two very strange and unfortunate accidents – a bit of a nightmare day,” the Spaniard said afterwards, especially since he doesn’t understand the crashes: “In both cases, there were no signs that I was crashing, so I couldn’t have prevented them.”
Even after the accident in the race, there was confusion surrounding Sainz – although he had already lost control of the car and the marshals had begun to recover it, the Ferrari driver tried to continue driving again, according to the team. This was a “potentially dangerous situation” for the marshals, which is why Sainz received a warning from the stewards after the race.
Vasseur has the back of dejected Sainz
The Spaniard started the race on Sunday after his qualifying crash from the pit lane – a measure with no alternative, as Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur reveals: “We had no other choice but to repair the car,” explains the Frenchman.
“Of course, starting from there, it was always going to be difficult to get into the points – especially since it was difficult to overtake out there,” adds Sainz: ”But of course, apologies to the whole team for the two accidents. I hope we can come back stronger.”
The 30-year-old has the backing of his team principal: “I’m not worried about him. I think he will be very strong again in Vegas. Last year was a good example of that, when the weekend didn’t go well for him with the manhole cover,” recalls Vasseur: “And then he made a good comeback over the weekend.”
Thanks to Leclerc: Ferrari barely loses points to McLaren
Alone: In Las Vegas, Sainz will then actually have to deliver again, otherwise Ferrari will no longer be in the running for the Constructors’ Championship. In Brazil on Sunday, team-mate Charles Leclerc was the lone fighter for the Scuderia to get the potatoes out of the oven, finishing fifth, which meant that the team only lost two points to title rivals McLaren, who are now 36 points ahead of the reds.
“We will be in the mix until the end,” said Sainz, also looking ahead to the World Cup duel. ‘There are still three weekends to come, which are very important for the whole team. We have to refocus, line up and see how we can tackle these last three races in the best possible way.’
Sainz doesn’t necessarily need any more rain – and thanks to three races that are basically taking place in desert regions, he probably has a good chance of getting it. The Spaniard is not particularly happy with the tire performance of his Ferrari in the wet: “Yes, unfortunately, because I was actually always a very strong driver in the rain.”
Not so with the Ferrari SF-24: “Since I tried this car in the wet, I somehow never had a good feeling with it. I don’t know if we’re just not getting enough energy into the tires, if we’re driving it too stiff in medium-fast and fast sections, or what it is,” Sainz wonders, “But it’s clear that it’s very difficult and unpredictable to drive.”
The Spaniard proved this twice on Sunday…
