F1 News

Sainz left upset with Ferrari pace in Imola

Sainz gives a gloomy reaction in Imola after Ferrari upgrades

19 May at 16:05
1
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Ferrari were equipped with significant upgrades for the Imola Grand Prix, but Carlos Sainz was left crestfallen with his result in front of the Tifosi in Italy. Sainz gave an honest assessment following his fifth-place finish but did not blame the upgrades for the lack of pace.

Sainz started the Grand Prix in fourth despite qualifying in P5. Oscar Piastri picked up a penalty and dropped back to P5, and Sainz benefited from that. But the Spanish driver couldn't take advantage with race pace and dropped back behind the Australian. Sainz gives a gloomy reaction.

"Today we were simply lacking quite a lot of pace. I'm not very happy because I'm pretty sure after qualifying yesterday, we saw something in the car that might have not been working as expected. We also had some issues with the deployment. So today was a bit of damage limitation race for me after what we saw yesterday. All weekend, we've been lagging behind which is not ideal," Sainz told the media, including GPblog, in Imola after the race.

Did the upgrades let Ferrari down?

Leclerc started to catch Lando Norris for second place but could not sustain his pursuit and dropped away. Sainz saw his teammate finish on the podium. Still, Sainz isn't downbeat about the upgrades Ferrari introduced this weekend. 

"There's something on the idle side that we need to look into, as well as the deployment. There were some issues during the whole race that was holding me back, especially in the first stint, so something to look at. I think it's more a different thing [not upgrades]. But I cannot go into details," Sainz concluded.

Ferrari still maintain a lead on McLaren in the Constructors Championship, but Norris has finished either first or second in the last three races.