Sep
Carlos Sainz thinks that the Scuderia’s disappointing season can only be fixed by a fresh start.
Carlos Sainz is of the opinion that design modifications, not development upgrades, is the only way Ferrari can address the troubles with its 2023 car.
Ferrari is now in fourth spot in the Constructors’ standings with 201 points going into their home Italian Grand Prix at Monza, 54 points behind second-placed Mercedes, despite having a below-average season.
The 2024 car has essentially taken center stage at Maranello, with the 2023 SF-23 machine no longer receiving the majority of attention during practice sessions.
Without a new design for ’24, Sainz, who has yet to finish on the podium in 2023, thinks it will be practically impossible to fix the fundamental issues with the SF-23.
Sainz is pleased with his 2024 practice focus
Including RacingNews365, Sainz told the reporters, “We’ve done a decent job in terms of development.”
“If you look at the development race this year, we are up there in terms of cars that have developed the most, and it is clear that the biggest jump has been done by McLaren.
“But apart from them, normally, we’ve been lacking against Mercedes and Red Bull in development this year and what we haven’t managed to do is take away the characteristics that make our car extremely tricky to drive in certain situations.
“It is an intrinsic problem in the car that you can’t take away in development and only take away by design.
“It is not a secret that we’ve been struggling a lot to drive in unpredictable conditions like when it is windy or in long corners where you spend a lot of time in the corner.
“Also, our tyre problems can come from these, so that is why I say we now understand the problem, understand the main issue and now we need to put everything together to produce a better car.”
Ferrari may challenge for se
cond place in the rankings, according to Sainz, if the squad does a “perfect job.”
“I think we fully understand what we want from next year’s car, and what characteristics we want it to have,” he said.
“It is obviously another thing whether we can fully achieve it or not, and we are fully focused in the simulator, in the wind-tunnel and even in free practices to take the time to keep experimenting with things to make sure that we have everything covered for next year’s car.
“Don’t get me wrong, there is still a Constructors’ Championship to fight with Mercedes and Aston Martin over, and we still believe we can come out on top if we do a perfect job.
“But there is also the fact that we need to use these practice sessions to keep trying things.
“At some circuits it is maybe not worth it, like maybe Monza or Singapore, but then there’s obviously some where you can definitely learn a lot.”
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