Carlos Sainz rued that qualifying could prove to be an “Achilles’ heel” as Ferrari bids for back-to-back Formula 1 wins this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Sainz and team-mate Charles Leclerc Leclerc qualified third and fourth respectively at the United States GP, which the latter converted into victory in a Ferrari 1-2.
It’s no secret that the team’s race pace has been strong as of late, but that has come at the expense of one-lap pace.
With the DRS zone shortened down the start/finish at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this weekend, qualifying will take greater precedence.
Amid Ferrari’s success in Austin, Sainz is “hopeful” to be in the mix once again this weekend, but warned that “qualifying remains a bit of our Achilles’ Heel this year”.
“The moment you qualify P3 or P4 in a track like Mexico, maybe here with the long straight you can pass into Turn 1 at the start,” he continued.
“But at a lot of others you will not be able to do the kind of race that we did in Austin.
“I hope that we can be in the mix like we were in Austin.
“I think if we are in the mix, given our race pace this year and what can happen here at the start, even if you are not on pole you might have a chance at winning.
“Before Austin I doubted whether we could be in the mix at tracks like Austin, but the fact that we dominated there and were so strong gives me hope.
“And as long as we are in the mix, anyone can win.”
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Ferrari will ‘be in the mix’ in Mexico, says Sainz
The United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) was an important moment for Ferrari.
The Italian giants entered the weekend knowing COTA would show where its overall pace lay, and the team came out in style.
Sainz explained that, while high-speed cornering remains an issue for Ferrari, the SF24 performed perfectly around the rest of the lap at COTA, paving the way for victory.
“I think when you look into the detail of the Austin track, as long as we survive the first sector – which in qualifying we were two-tenths off the Red Bull and McLaren in only three or four corners, then all of the other corners were perfect for Ferrari and we managed to make the time back in all the low-speed stuff,” he said.
Ferrari’s deficiency in high-speed cornering makes Sainz fearful that Qatar could prove a difficult weekend for the team across the board, but he has backed the Scuderia to fare well everywhere else.
“We’re still lacking in high-speed corners, especially in qualifying mode, which makes me feel like Qatar will be a difficult race for us,” he said.
“But all the other circuits just hopefully we will be in the [fight].
“Then whether you win or not depends on how your race pace is that weekend, how you start, how you qualify, but at least be in the mix which means you give yourself a chance of winning at maybe every track except for Qatar that I think is not a Ferrari track at all.”
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