Carlos Sainz has revealed that not having a “good feeling” with Ferrari’s 2024 Formula 1 car in the wet prompted his “nightmare” weekend in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Sainz arrived in Brazil as F1’s most recent race victor, but he was unable to replicate his Mexico showing as his latest appearance comprised two incidents in the wet.
The Spaniard’s woes began in qualifying on Sunday morning when he lost the car going through Turn 2 and made contact with the barrier, consigning him to a Q2 exit.
READ MORE – Carlos Sainz triggers Ferrari headache with Brazil GP qualifying crash
Sainz caused damage to his SF-24 which mandated a pit lane start, where he was making slow progress until a spin into the wall at Turn 8 on Lap 39 ended his hopes.
“Just two very strange, unfortunate crashes today,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week post-race. “A bit of a nightmare day, honestly.
“The two of them, not really, just no sign of me crashing, so I couldn’t do anything to avoid them.
“But at the same time, it didn’t look easy out there to overtake.
“So starting from the pit lane, it was always going to be difficult to make it to [the] points with the lack of overtaking there was.
“At the same time, yeah, apologies to the whole team for the two crashes. I hope we can come back stronger.”
Sainz hasn’t gelled with 2024 Ferrari in the wet
Sainz’s accidents in the wet in Brazil and also Canada earlier this season have gone against his renowned reputation as a driver who thrives in treacherous conditions.
The outgoing Ferrari racer has admitted that his problems in the rain across the current campaign have been exclusive to difficulties with the squad’s 2024 challenger.
“Yeah, unfortunately this year, you know, I’ve always been a very strong driver in the wet,” he highlighted.
“But for some reason, ever since I tried this car in the wet this year, I’ve never had a good feeling with it.
“I don’t know if we just don’t put energy into the tyres. We run it too stiff in medium to high speed or what is it.
“It’s clear that it’s very unpredictable and very difficult to drive.
“I’m glad Charles [Leclerc] brought it home in P5. I heard he was also struggling out there.
“So honestly, a bit of a nightmare, the whole race. But yeah, hopefully some dry race is coming up and we will try and go for it.”
Ferrari still ‘alive’ in the championship
Sainz’s race-ending crash represented a blow to Ferrari’s Constructors’ Championship chances as McLaren extended the gap to 36 points with three races remaining.
“We will be alive until the very end,” Sainz insisted. “Three weekends now coming up that are going to be obviously important for the whole team.
“Now we need to refocus. We regroup and see how we can approach these last three races in the best possible way.”
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc pinpoints mistakes which cost Ferrari potential Brazil F1 podium
