“That’s part of it,” said Carlos Sainz after the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. But he doesn’t take the double at Ferrari lightly.
Because both he and Charles Leclerc failed in the eighth race of the Formula 1 season with technical problems. For Sainz it was already the third zero this year.
“Of course it’s frustrating on a personal level. Very frustrating in fact. Because it’s incredibly difficult to pick up any momentum,” explains the Ferrari driver.
But there’s no point in panicking about it. “We just have to stay calm now, stand together and react accordingly,” says Sainz. “And: “We learn from these mistakes.”
How many breakdowns Ferrari can still afford
Ferrari has to do the same, after all the team in Baku missed out on important track time: Sainz was already out after eight laps, Leclerc was also out before half of the race. “You’re missing 40 or 50 laps in the car in which you could learn something,” says Sainz. “But unfortunately it is.”
Can Ferrari afford even more of these “little difficulties”, as Sainz puts it? Answer: “It all depends on how much happens at Red Bull! If Red Bull misses five more times, we can miss a few more times. No, I’m just kidding!”
“The goal is, of course, to have no more failures. That’s always the goal. The problems usually come unexpectedly. If that weren’t the case, then we would be clairvoyant and could predict the future. So: It can happen.”
Is Ferrari ready for a World Cup as a team?
Sainz does not want to comment on the extent to which the most recent restructuring and internal appointments could play a role. He believes that Ferrari as a team is strong enough to have a chance at the title this year.
“And it’s true: We’re facing world champions. But Red Bull didn’t get over the distance in Bahrain either with either car. Like here with us [in Baku]. This shows that things like this happen every now and then in 22 races. You just have to learn from it and rule it out for the future. Red Bull seems to have solved its problems.”
That’s why, from Sainz’ point of view, it’s not bad at all to have to contest a new Grand Prix again this weekend: “I prefer it to go directly to the next race weekend, because I’m sure the team has enough time to find the source of the error and act on it for Canada.”