Qatar Grand Prix

Why "scared" Ferrari failed to maximise Qatar potential

Ewan Gale Sunday 21 November 2021 20:08

Why "scared" Ferrari failed to maximise Qatar potential

Carlos Sainz believes Ferrari entering the Qatar Grand Prix "scared" contributed to the team failing to maximise its potential result.

The Spaniard finished seventh, a place ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc in a race dominated by tyre failures, with high wear and aggressive kerbs seemingly compromising the Pirelli construction.

Degradation was expected to be high entering the weekend due to the coarse track surface at the Losail International Circuit, a prediction proven correct during practice.

Sainz suggested the result for Ferrari could have been even better, despite the Scuderia taking a giant stride towards securing third in the constructors' standings over McLaren.

"It is not exactly what we wanted but we went into the race quite scared about the tyre wear from Friday and we had to drive quite conservatively with the tyres because we know we eat the front tyres," explained Sainz.

"We did a strong first stint on the medium, we managed to make it quite long into the race but with the hard, we were far too conservative.

"The hard was a much better tyre allowing you to push and maybe we were saving the tyre too much until at one point I said 'I think there is plenty of tyre left, I am going to push'.

"I was catching [Lance] Stroll but unfortunately there was Stroll with DRS from [Esteban] Ocon and we couldn't make it but we had strong pace at the end."

Latest News

Latest F1 News

Axed F1 star makes RETURN as stunning new drive revealed

12 minutes ago

F1 Off The Track

F1 champion’s release marks MAJOR milestone as retirement recalled

57 minutes ago

Latest F1 News

Hamilton Ferrari FAIRYTALE predicted as F1 legend tipped for major success

1 hour ago

Red Bull

Red Bull chief drops driver lineup BOMBSHELL

2 hours ago

F1 Today

F1 News Today: Major Hamilton update revealed as star announces RETIREMENT verdict

3 hours ago

F1 News & Gossip

McLaren 'papaya rules' saga sparks X-RATED F1 verdict

Today 10:57

More news

F1 News 24/7

Races

About GPFans

GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.

We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.

With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.

Follow us on your favorite social media channel

Corporate & Media

Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY

Why "scared" Ferrari failed to maximise Qatar potential

Why "scared" Ferrari failed to maximise Qatar potential