Why did Carlos Sainz make great progress at Ferrari?
Before this season, Ferrari's main position belonged to Charles Leclerc. The Monaco driver is considered by many experts to be better than Sainz, proven by the past scores he achieved. But that position gradually belongs to Sainz this season and was confirmed after the Spanish racer finished first on the streets of Singapore on September 17.
After the summer vacation in August, during three consecutive races from Zandvoort (Netherlands) to Monza (Italy) to Singapore, Sainz had exceptionally good results. He won a total of 50 points, only less than defending champion Max Verstappen during this period, and always ranked ahead of Leclerc in the qualifying round and the official race. Sainz is currently 19 points ahead of his teammate on the rankings after taking home first place in the first race of the 2023 F1 season for Ferrari.
But the classification performance changed after the summer break and determined Sainz's success. At the Dutch Grand Prix, while Leclerc struggled with the poor balance and difficulty of driving the SF23, Sainz still overcame the difficulties to take the sixth starting position and was 0.9 seconds faster than his teammate. The classification performance far exceeded expectations at Zandvoort, helping Ferrari win a valuable 5th place in the official race in a place considered unsuitable for the Italian racing team's car.
At the Italian and Singapore Grand Prix, Sainz was only a little faster than Leclerc in the qualifying round, but this difference was just enough to decide the result when entering the official race. The advantage of starting first helped Sainz maintain his position on the track, and although Leclerc had stronger speed at Monza as shown by the Monaco driver's late attacks, Sainz's SF23 still controlled the game.
"I feel more in tune with the car since the beginning of the season, and recently nothing has changed at all. Last year, that didn't happen and I had to change everything in the way I drive and adapt myself and contribute." I want to set up the car according to my style," Sainz said after the test race in Singapore.
That is consistent with what Sainz has revealed since the beginning of the season. During pre-season testing, the Spanish driver repeatedly said that he was practicing a very different approach to his driving style to maximize the power from the Ferrari car.
Even in the early races of the season when things were not going well like in Australia, where Sainz crashed into Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, he was satisfied with his driving ability. Sainz shared Leclerc's difficulties in getting to grips with the Ferrari, but overall the Spaniard handled and got along with the SF23 better than his teammate. That harmony was gradually transformed into an impressive performance after the summer break, resulting in two consecutive pole wins for Sainz.
"I am very satisfied with the car and my performance, probably the best performance since I joined Ferrari. Finally, I was able to maximize my potential. I also very happy to be coordinating with the engineers to gradually exploit the potential of the SF23," the Spanish racer said after the Singapore Grand Prix qualifying round.
That careful preparation materialized into an impressive start for Sainz at the races in Monza and Singapore, allowing the Spaniard to perform well even in practice sessions. On the contrary, Leclerc lost his way early on, as happened at Zandvoort and Monza.
Ferrari team leader Fred Vasseur also realized this. Many times, he spoke about the progress Sainz had made in his preparation for the races. Vasseur said after the Singapore Grand Prix: "He has improved over a long period of time, especially in preparation for the weekend race. The biggest difference is that Carlos was ready right from the first test race. It was the same at Zandvoort." . Even though he did not participate in the first test race, letting reserve driver Robert Shwartzman race, by the second test race, Sainz was soon in good form."
"That's the best way to prepare well for tire management. If you start the race poorly, you then have to try 100% more than you can to catch up with your opponents. In addition, for the racing team, about In terms of preparation, integrating well with the track is the best approach that Ferrari can currently do," Ferrari team leader added.
He said: "Before the summer break, everything seemed fine. But on the break, I met with the engineers, and realized that some details the team did very well, but we never combined them. them together. And so we try to improve this, and then gradually achieve stable performances for the rest of the season, because clearly the SF23 is very capable."
Sainz described the race at Zandvoort as great, Monza as near perfect, and Singapore as perfect. "I am very happy and proud that the results of preparation and analysis are the speed I achieved in Singapore. The change has brought results. I am very happy for both engineers, mechanics as well as the entire team racing," he said.
Throughout Sainz's career, the Spanish driver has been less able to handle rear instability than his teammates. But he overcomes and handles cars with similar characteristics to the current SF23 well, like when he was a teammate with Max Verstappen back when he was competing at Toro Rosso.
After the Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc also admitted that Sainz's good results on the SF23 are forcing him to think more about adjusting his driving technique to suit the car. The Monaco driver said: "Carlos did a great job at Monza and Singapore. It's great to see him in good form because it pushes me to understand my driving style a bit more and try to adapt it." My driving style is suitable for SF23. I am not completely comfortable with my current car. The car swings too much compared to my personal driving style, making it difficult for me to compete. Because of the unpredictability of the car, so I can't get the amount of tail splash I want."
However, Leclerc also admitted that better adaptation by his teammates is a positive factor, increasing SF23's competitiveness. "My job is to try to catch up with him," the racer added.
Developments in Singapore are an example. Owning a car with high tire wear and low long-distance speed, the only gripe for Sainz is the narrowness of the street racing track. The Spanish driver was not afraid at all, actively forcing the race team to slow down to narrow the gap between the cars behind, preventing the Mercedes duo from pitting early and leapfrogging to the leading position.
And in the tense laps at the end of the race, with the tires worn out while the Mercedes was speeding away from the advantage of new tires, Sainz proactively asked the home team to regularly announce the gap between the SF23 and Lando Norris' second running car. Sainz's goal is to keep the distance between these two cars to less than 1 second to help his former teammate use DRS to prevent George Russell from passing. At that moment, Ferrari did not realize Sainz's intentions. Chairman Frederic Vasseur admitted: "It was Carlos's own idea."
