Carlos Sainz gives negative verdict for Ferrari’s Qatar GP despite gaining on McLaren in title fight
Carlos Sainz was not happy with Ferrari's result at the Qatar GP after facing an unfortunate puncture in the race.
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Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)
Scuderia Ferrari has the chance to win its first Formula 1 title since 2008. The Italian team is in contention for the Constructors’ championship against McLaren. The Prancing Horse did reduce its points gap to the Woking-based team this weekend in Qatar. However, Carlos Sainz has claimed that it has not been the best of weekends for the Scuderia.
Ferrari now trails McLaren by 21 points with just one race to go. Charles Leclerc finished second this weekend, just ahead of Oscar Piastri. While Carlos Sainz crossed the chequered flag in sixth place after a puncture.
Carlos Sainz insisted that despite scoring more points than McLaren, Ferrari still lost a lot this weekend. The Spaniard highlighted that he could’ve brought in more points if not for the puncture. Moreover, Sainz lost even more time under the Safety Car when he had already stopped for a new set of tires.
I think today we lost more than we gained. We were running in a good position behind Charles. Then I had a puncture in the last corner and had to do a full lap on a punctured tyre. Then the safety car came out as I came out of the pits. So, lost a lot of positions.
Carlos Sainz said post-race
Carlos Sainz: I think today we lost more than we gained. We were running in a good position behind Charles. Then I had a puncture in the last corner and had to do a full lap on a punctured tyre. Then the safety car came out as I came out of the pits. So, lost a lot of positions.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) December 1, 2024
Ferrari didn’t expect 2024 title fight till season finale
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur mentioned that he was unaware about the exact deficit to McLaren in the standings. The Frenchman admitted that recovering such a huge gap within one race was going to be difficult. The Ferrari boss insisted that they didn’t think that the fight would continue till the season finale. Nevertheless, the Scuderia would be hoping to put up a challenge in Abu Dhabi.
I haven’t done the Maths – is it 29? 21 to McLaren? Haha, I don’t think we’ve ever recovered so many points? We certainly didn’t expect it. So yeah, absolutely, we will fully focus on that in Abu Dhabi.
Fred Vasseur said post-race
Fred: "I haven't done the Maths – is it 29? 21 to McLaren? Haha, I don't think we've ever recovered so many points? We certainly didn't expect it. So yeah, absolutely, we will fully focus on that in Abu Dhabi."
— sara (@_allthatglitz) December 1, 2024
Certainly, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be pushing themselves to the limit at the Yas Marina Circuit next weekend. However, McLaren might just have enough of a lead to ensure that the Scuderia does not make things difficult in the final round of 2024.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2271 Articles Published)