Carlos Sainz: Ferrari's tyre degradation issues should improve in Saudi Arabia
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari 5 Mar 2023
Carlos Sainz is optimistic that the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be less punishing on Ferrari's tyre wear problems than the Bahrain track was.
Sainz finished fourth in Bahrain, 48 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen, while team-mate Charles Leclerc retired on lap 39 with a power unit failure.
Despite the disappointing results, Sainz believes the Jeddah circuit will be better for Ferrari as it is not so severe on tyres, which is an area Scuderia are still struggling with.
"The tarmac in Jeddah is very different," said Sainz.
"The limitation is not so much at the rear. So, we're pretty sure it's going a bit different at other tracks.
"Bahrain is the most extreme for [degradation] of the year so we only have one example. I'm confident in other circuits we can play a better game but for Bahrain, it was our reality."
Sainz also admitted that Ferrari's 2023 challenger still suffers from the same tyre degradation issues as last year's car, which makes it hard to compete.
"It's about as bad as it was last year," he added. "It's just that the other two cars [Red Bull and Aston] for some reason found something that means they degrade half [as much]."
