Carlos Sainz says P4 finish at 2022 F1 Spanish GP 'is not too bad given the circumstances, but it's far from ideal'

Carlos Sainz said his recovery drive to P4 at the 2022 Spanish GP was a good result given his troubles early on in the race but conceded that it wasn’t ideal. The Ferrari driver fought back from a poor start and a spin to score the best Spanish GP result of his F1 career. Speaking to the media post-race, he said:

“It was a very tough Sunday and very far from what we were hoping for. We gave absolutely everything to recover and managed to get back to P4, which is not too bad given the circumstances, but it’s far from ideal.”

Arriving at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Carlos Sainz had hoped to take his first career victory at the venue in front of his home crowd. While he showed glimpses of promise throughout the weekend, he failed to get himself on the front row in qualifying.

At the race start, excessive wheelspin caused his car’s anti-stall to cut in, losing him crucial speed on the run down to Turn 1. By the time the front runners were entering the long Turn 4 complex, Sainz had been swallowed up by the back and was desperately fighting off Lewis Hamilton for P5.

Later, a gust of wind caught him out and caused him to spin off the track and onto the gravel at Turn 5, causing significant damage to his car's floor. Sainz believes the damage cost him valuable lap time, denying him the opportunity to further climb up the order and challenge the leading pair of Red Bulls. He said:

“A gust of wind threw me off in Turn 4 and unfortunately, my car was damaged. From then on, it was a big struggle for me, as a lack of downforce meant I was sliding around with the tyres pretty much everywhere.”

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Ferrari tweaking 2022 challenger to give Carlos Sainz more confidence

Ferrari is reportedly working to develop the F1-75 in a way that would give Carlos Sainz more confidence within the cockpit.

According to Laurent Mekies, the characteristics of the car are ill-suited to the Spaniard’s strengths, thereby making his job much harder compared to teammate Charles Leclerc. Speaking at the FIA press conference ahead of the Spanish GP, Mekies said:

“It is fair to say you are right that the car is born with characteristics that suit him a little bit less. It is clear in his comments, it is clear in his feedback, it is clear in what we see in the data. We are working with him to try to tweak the car and to develop the car in a way that it can give him the confidence he needs”

Sainz has struggled to match teammate Leclerc in terms of pure pace so far this season. Combined with a few unlucky incidents in the last few races, the Spaniard has been left languishing in sixth place in the championship standings.