Sainz confident after Ferrari debut
100 days after his arrival in Maranello, the Spanish driver seems satisfied with the SF21.
Ferrari on the rise! The Scuderia has clearly worked well since the end of the 2020 season. The poor SF20 from last year has given way to its little sister, the SF21. And even if the changes made on the side of Maranello are not expected to be enough to compete for the title, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are smiling. Arriving from McLaren, the Spanish driver displays great confidence.
Positive feelings
At the end of the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, Sainz talks about positive feelings.
« They are better than the result » said after the race (summary here) the Madrid driver to the Spanish daily AS. « My feelings are really good compared to the car and the team because I was very fast all weekend. Maybe faster and closer to Charles than I hoped. If you look at my pace, I was worth more than an eighth place! »
Eighth at the finish line, just like at the start, Sainz finished eight and a half seconds behind Leclerc, even setting a faster lap in the race: 1’34.509 compared to 1’34.988 for the Monegasque.
Carlos Sainz: (e) if you look at my pace, I was worth more than an eighth place.
To give the Spanish driver some ideas, who, for his first race with the Scuderia, chose to play it safe, especially at the start.
« I wanted to complete the 56 laps to get to know the car and see my speed compared to others. Then for many reasons, at the start, the first lap and the qualifications, I was not better than eighth place. But if you look at the pace, I was better than that. »
Binotto’s encouragements… Is Sainz more interesting than Vettel?
Mattia Binotto also seems satisfied with the outcome of this first round and also shows a certain enthusiasm.
After the race, the team principal spoke on Sky Italia’s microphone: We can aim for third place in the constructors’ championship. Carlos already works very well with Charles. We can finally rely on our two drivers. Knowing that we can count on each other is important for us and it also affects the team’s spirit.
A way to encourage his new teammate but also to take a dig at Sebastian Vettel, who left for Aston Martin at the end of last season. The time has come, in any case, for the battle for third place among the constructors, and this should take shape against McLaren and why not AlphaTauri.
Mattia Binotto: « Carlos is already working very well with Charles. We can finally count on our two drivers. »
Maybe from Imola, in two weeks, on Sunday, April 18th, for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, at the legendary Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will try to shine for a race almost at home.
