Carlos Sainz has to line up behind team-mate Charles Leclerc again in Formula 1 qualifying in Spain – The F1-75 suits Leclerc’s driving style better
Carlos Sainz was again beaten by teammate Charles Leclerc in qualifying at his home Grand Prix in Barcelona. The qualifying duel with 0:6 from the Spaniard’s point of view speaks a clear language.
Sainz will therefore start Sunday’s race from third on the grid, having trailed pole-sitter Leclerc by 0.416 seconds, with Max Verstappen separating the two Ferrari drivers.
The Ferrari driver believes his current deficit compared to Leclerc is due to a “snappier” Ferrari that the Monegasque can “play with a lot more”. But even Leclerc showed with his spin in Q3 that the F1-75 doesn’t seem to be easy to drive at the limit.
Leclerc copes better with loose rear
When asked if the Ferrari was too unforgiving, however, Leclerc took responsibility for the mistake, saying he was “trying too hard” and the spin therefore had “nothing to do with the car”.
But teammate Sainz, who was still able to beat Leclerc in the drivers’ championship in the 2021 season, says he feels the ground-effect Ferrari of 2022 is more of a racing car on a knife edge.
With the rear end in particular being particularly difficult to handle, Sainz suspects that Leclerc’s greater ability to play with the car was a big factor in the early gap between the two Ferrari drivers.
The Monegasque already showed that he could handle a car that was not perfectly positioned and prone to oversteer very well in the 2020 season, when he was able to beat his then teammate Sebastian Vettel by a significant margin.
Sainz: “I’m already doing my homework “
“I find it a bit trickier and more bitey than last year’s car,” says Sainz, when asked about his problems with the F1-75. “That’s probably one of the reasons why I’m not quite at that level yet. “
“I can see that Charles is obviously happier with the handling and can play with it a lot more than I can. I just have to get used to the feeling of playing with the rear a lot more.”
Sainz also stresses that he is doing his “homework” both on and off the track by trying a lot in the simulator: “I’m trying to push myself to get used to that balance and I will get there. “
Leclerc: Longrun in third practice was “much better “
The Ferrari driver attributes the fact that he took another step back in Barcelona with the big gap in qualifying to the hot temperatures in Spain, which put more stress on the tyres, which in turn leads to even more oversteer.
Nevertheless, both he and Leclerc felt that Ferrari had “found something” in the second free practice session after the disappointing race simulations. While Verstappen still clearly had the upper hand in the long runs on Friday, the Ferrari drivers were able to make their presence felt with an additional race simulation in the third practice session.
Ferrari seems to have found something overnight. Longruns of Leclerc and Sainz in FP3 look very competitive compared to yesterday’s times. Track conditions were also quite similar compared to FP2. F1 SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/2qVFfEtkdv
– Kevin Hermann (@MST_KevinH) May 21, 2022
This extra test with lots of fuel paid off according to Leclerc: “We did a long run in FT3 which was much better compared to yesterday. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any other references because we were the only ones who did a long run in FT3.”
“But I feel like we found something. Whether it will be enough to challenge Max and Checo in the race, I don’t know. But the feeling was better,” said the pole-sitter.
