General
Sainz: "We did understood a few things from that weekend"
If you start in a Ferrari from the front row of the grid, as Carlos Sainz did in Spain, and then miss the podium, you have often not done well as a driver. But at Ferrari, this year is different. The Spaniard simply lacked race pace, and he hopes his team can do better in Canada next Sunday.
Sainz's best season result was his fourth place in Bahrain. In Canada, the first podium finish of 2023 should be a reality. Has Ferrari been able to take a step forward with the SF23? "We did understand a few things from that weekend. But in terms of performance, there's nothing new here."
Still, Ferrari should be able to perform better than in Spain after they only scored ten points on race day (Sainz finished fifth, and Leclerc finished outside the top ten). "What we expect is to the package that we brought in Barcelona to be able to explore it a bit better and also to the circuit characteristics to suit us a bit better."
Serious competition at the top
According to the current number six in the world championship, Ferrari should watch out for Alpine this weekend. "Yes, I think Alpine is about to join us. I think they are very, very close to joining that battle. I still think we have a bit of an upper hand. But between Aston and Mercedes, I think it's very, very close. Normally Aston has the upper hand, but let's see. In Barcelona, it was Mercedes."