Carlos Sainz reveals the REASONS for his Ferrari struggles

Carlos Sainz

Sainz reveals the REASONS for his Ferrari struggles

Carlos Sainz has struggled to feel comfortable with the SF-23

Harry Smith

Thursday 4 May 2023 19:42

Carlos Sainz Jr. may lead his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc by six points in the standings, but it has been no secret that the Spaniard has struggled with the SF-23 this season.

That fact was clear to see at the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Sainz finished the race over 24 seconds behind his team-mate in P5.

Sainz impressed with his pace relative to Leclerc last season, but the Spaniard was miles off the pace in Baku while his team-mate topped both the Sprint Shootout session and qualifying, taking pole position ahead of the Red Bull cars.

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The Spaniard has now opened up about his struggles with the SF-23, pinpointing which areas of the car he is struggling to adjust to.

Solving Sainz's struggles

Speaking to Marca, Sainz explained: "To be honest, it is a complicated car and it has given me a few headaches in these first races, hence the changes we have been making to the set-ups."

Then asked whether it was reliability that was an issue, Sainz replied: "More manageability than reliability. It is true that there was a [engine] problem in the first race, but it is more the former."

Sainz also pinpointed the exact aspect of the SF-23 that was causing him so many problems.

Sainz was left furious at the Australian Grand Prix following an incident at the red flag restart

"The car is difficult to handle, but I see an attitude to improve at the factory that I haven't seen for a long time. We have found things in the car that we don't quite like and we are trying to compensate for them.

"A very aggressive plan has been applied in Maranello to turn the year around."