Carlos Sainz, after the sensational exclusion from Q3 in Friday qualifying, manages to position himself sixth of Qatar Sprint Race. evident the suffering in the final laps of the race for i two Cavallino drivers, following the drop in performance of the softer compound.
Sainz's difficulties in the Qatar Sprint
The use of soft tires allowed Carlos Sainz, but also to his teammate Charles Leclerc, to be snappy at the start and to immediately gain excellent positions. A hazard, that of fitting the soft compound, which however it didn't pay off at the end of the race.
In Qatar Sprint Race, Sainz found himself in difficulty. Tire degradation forced the two Ferrari drivers to manage, which made them easy targets for overtaking by opponents. Despite it all, Sainz he finished his race in the points, in sixth position, unlike his teammate Leclerc, who was penalized.
“It was a disaster with the softs”
He expressed himself harshly, Carlos Sainz, with regards to soft rubber. "From soft? We haven't learned anything, it was a disaster“, confessed the Madrilenian. Issue #55 he then joked saying: "I don't think anyone will touch the red tire tomorrow. Maybe for a lap at the start and then go straight to the garage to change it".
When asked if at home Ferrari have found better confidence, Carlos replies: “The wind improved the car a little". Sainz, although in difficulty in the Qatar Sprint, he says he heard a better feeling. "Today was better than yesterday, we'll see tomorrow. It will be difficult from 12th place, but I'll give it my all".
Three mandatory stops, Sainz attacks the FIA
One of the most difficult issues concerned the discussion on tire management over the 57 laps of the race due to safety problems linked above all to the Losail curbs. The FIA and Pirelli have been monitoring the situation for confirm the three mandatory stops during the Grand Prix, for a maximum of 18 laps per stint. Specifying that anyone who exceeds an 18 lap stint will receive a black flag and disqualification. Sainz had already criticized the FIA yesterday, and the management of the situation which had proven problematic also in 2021. Sainz commented on the three-stop proposal:
“If it is necessary for safety then we will have to do it but here we were in 2021 (when curb issues first emerged) and it took two years to resolve the problem, but for some reason the FIA insisted with this curb design which is damaging the tyres."
“Moreover we learned about the situation on Saturday morning from the media, no one informed us of the decisions taken. As GPDA we are not happy with the situation, we hope that the collaboration starts to improve because learning from the press about safety-related decisions means that our contribution as drivers is not considered as important as it should be. "
