After Carlos Sainz had already spoken of his best performance since he started driving for the Italian team after his 3rd place at Ferrari’s home race in Monza, he upped the ante on the media Thursday before the race weekend in Singapore. The Spaniard is of the opinion that he will generally drive better in 2023 than last year.
The hard facts speak for themselves: only one podium compared to 6 after the first 14 races last year, 54 points less, and no race victory – but the Ferrari SF-23 is nowhere near as competitive as its predecessor F1 model. 75.
“I definitely felt good in the car in the last few races,” he says. “We’re starting to understand it a lot better and making sure we’re putting the car in the right place in FT1. But generally this year I feel like I’m understanding the car a lot better and driving it better than last year.”
Data: Sainz 2023 not only better than Leclerc in terms of points
“Perhaps over the last two or three weekends I managed to combine everything a little better, and that is also reflected in the results. But the driving behavior and the comfort in the car are good, and now I hope that we can “We’ll be more consistent in the second half of the season and get more results and weekends, like we did in Zandvoort and Monza.”
To confirm Sainz’s statement, you have to look at the only meaningful comparison to the previous year: the comparison to his teammate Charles Leclerc. In 2022, after 14 races, Sainz was 15 points behind the Monegasque, but before the Singapore weekend in 2023 he was six points ahead.
And the racing and qualifying pace has also improved significantly. According to data from technology company PACETEQ, Sainz has been 0.007 seconds per lap faster than Leclerc in the race so far in 2023, and an average of 0.080 seconds in qualifying. In comparison: In 2022, Leclerc was ahead of the race pace with 0.110 seconds per lap, and in qualifying he was even able to beat Sainz by an average of 0.160 seconds.
While on the one hand it can be argued that Charles Leclerc’s motivation level was probably higher due to the extreme lack of chances against Red Bull, Sainz is still sure that he will do better against Leclerc because he has made progress.
Sainz: Why things work better with the SF-23
“I feel more familiar with the car since the start of the season,” he says. “It’s not like anything has changed recently. But I feel better with the car from the start of the season, whereas that wasn’t the case last year. I had to change some things about my driving style and that Tune and adjust the car a little to my taste.”
“But who will we be against this weekend [in Singapur] compete? I have no idea. I think it could be Aston, it could be Mercedes, it could be McLaren or even Alpine if they are as competitive as they were at Zandvoort. I think Red Bull will be one step ahead, but if we do everything right, anything can happen.”
Although Ferrari has had some problems recently at tighter tracks like Zandvoort and Budapest, the Marina Bay Street Circuit might not be such a bad track for Ferrari. Qualifying is crucial on the narrow street circuit, where the SF-23 has its strengths. In addition, tire wear plays a minor role due to the smooth asphalt.
Sainz still scales down his expectations: “We are realistic, and the theory says that we shouldn’t be as fast as in Monza. Normally, we have struggled a little more in all races with high downforce than in those with low downforce. But They are rather sharp apexes where our car tends to suffer a little less [als in schnellen Kurven].”