Portuguese Grand Prix – Ferrari failed to shine

After rather good results in the first two Grand Prix of the season where Scuderia Ferrari managed to place both its drivers in the points each time, this 2021 edition of the Portuguese Grand Prix was not a success.

Charles Leclerc finished in 6th place while Sainz missed out on scoring points by finishing 11th after a race where he seemed to struggle.

The fall of Sainz

Starting in 8th position on the grid, Leclerc gained one place after the restart at the beginning of the race to stay behind his teammate for many laps. Sainz, on the other hand, had fallen to 6th place, losing one position from his starting position. The Spaniard pitted on lap 25 to put on hard tires. He then encountered difficulties with his first set of medium tyres, to come out once again just behind his Monegasque teammate, in 10th place.

However, as Sainz did not have a good race pace, he faded in favor of Leclerc, at the request of his team. The driver from Madrid then saw Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso overtake him successively. The result: a modest 11th place.

On Canal+ microphone, Leclerc shared his feelings about his race: « I am not happy with a sixth place ». However, he puts his performance into perspective by talking about his driving, which he considers satisfactory: « in terms of driving I am happy, I am satisfied with my performance ».

Clearly struggling with his medium tires just like his teammate, he continues: “We couldn’t get the mediums to work. Carlos had the same issue. We really need to work on that because it’s what kind of ruined our race.”

Charles Leclerc: « We failed to get the mediums to work. We really need to work on that because it’s what ruined our race. »

It remains to be seen whether Ferrari will learn any lessons for managing its tires in the future. The first indication will be at the next Grand Prix in Spain this Sunday, May 9th.