"Interesting things to try here" - Ferrari's Carlos Sainz looks to close gap to Charles Leclerc

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has been doing his homework going into this weekend's 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.

The Spaniard helped Ferrari claim their best result in F1 since the 2019 Singapore GP, securing P2 behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Sainz now claims to have some interesting theories after attempting to understand the differences inset between the two Ferrari cars last weekend.

Speaking to the media before the first practice session of the year at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the 27-year-old said:

“I was right there in the fight for pole in qualifying [in Bahrain] and this was a good news for me, because for the lack of feeling that I have with this car, and the lack of understanding that I feel I have, it was good news to still be able to put a couple of very strong laps in qualify that nearly gave me pole.”

Sainz went on to add, saying:

“But the fact is that I still need to work on the set-up. I need to work on the car understanding. I’ve done my analysis in these three days with my guys and we have a couple of very interesting theories. So we have a couple of very interesting things to try here. I don’t think it’s going to be a matter of one race, but a bit like it was last year, little by little, chip away at it and get there. We also need more samples. I don’t know if Bahrain was a bit of a one-off, and all of a sudden here I’m back to where I should be where I expect myself to be. Let’s see, it’s still early days.”

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"Too technical to explain to the press" - Sainz on gap between him and Ferrari teammate Leclerc in Bahrain

Carlos Sainz also reiterated that the gap between himself and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in Bahrain is not something that can be easily explained.

Admitting that he may never truly understand all the reasons behind the difference in performance between the two drivers, Sainz said:

“It’s too specific and too technical to explain to the press. There are things, like the feeling with the car, knowing exactly what to do in each type of corner to extract the maximum and then putting the car a little bit more to my liking, so that I go more comfortable with it just like I did in the second half of 2021. I want to try to do that as soon as possible.”

Sainz further went on to say:

“I insist, it’s very technical. There are things that even I still don’t understand. It’s not worth going into details, it’s only worth me trying it out, experiencing it, and that’s what I’ll do. And if, with the Bahrain car, I managed to be second, when I have the car to my liking, I am convinced that good times will come.”

After their impressive showing in the season opener, Ferrari are expected to be one of the contenders at the front when the lights go out for the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday, March 27.