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Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur addressed how Carlos Sainz was unlucky during the 2024 F1 Chinese GP.
The Spanish driver had a mediocre race at Shanghai. Both he and his teammate Charles Leclerc had a dull qualifying session where they secured P7 and P6, respectively. The start of the Chinese GP was good for the Ferraris, as both drivers slowly but steadily overtook cars and pushed forward on medium tires. Charles Leclerc eventually secured P4, while Carlos Sainz finished P5.
Speaking about the race to the media, including Sportskeeda, Vasseur explained that Ferrari lost time and pace during the last stint when both cars were on hard tires. He mentioned that Carlos Sainz was unfortunate with his pitstop since a safety car was deployed after three laps.
Vasseur added that Sainz was scared to pull off a long stint with the last set of hard tires, but praised him for managing the long stint by conserving the tires in the beginning.
The Shanghai International Circuit was recently resurfaced after not hosting an F1 race for five years.
"I think if we lost something, it's more on the last stint. Carlos was a bit unlucky with the timing of the pitstop, because he pitted three or four laps before the safety car. He was a bit scared to do a very long stint with the last set of hard and he was a bit conservative at the beginning, but he did very well to manage the long stint," Vasseur said.
"We were a bit less performant on the hard than on the medium. We were in a good position at the end of the stint of medium, but we lost ground on the hard," he added.
Carlos Sainz claims early tussle with Charles Leclerc cost them grid positions at the 2024 F1 Chinese GP
Carlos Sainz spoke about the wheel-to-wheel battle with his teammate Charles Leclerc at the start of the Chinese GP which cost them a few positions.
At the start of the race, both Sainz and Leclerc fought for a position, so much so that Mercedes driver George Russell took the opportunity to overtake both the Ferraris. Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg briefly overtook Sainz after the first lap as well, before the Spaniard reclaimed the position.
Speaking to the media after the race, including Sportskeeda, Sainz was reluctant to make any comments on the on-track battle with his Ferrari teammate. He mentioned that their antics cost both of them positions, which they ended up catching throughout the race.
"I’d prefer not to comment, but it’s obviously quite clear that it cost us both positions. So yeah, it didn’t help either of us. I think, given what our pace was today, I think better than P5 was impossible. Also, we had a very poor start with a situation there in Turns 1 and 2 that cost both cars two positions."
After the 2024 F1 Chinese GP, Charles Leclerc is third in the drivers' championship with 76 points, while Carlos Sainz is in fourth with 69 points.
