Sainz: Data shows I can be as fast as Leclerc in qualifying
Carlos Sainz says he can match the one-lap pace of his Ferrari Formula 1 teammate if he can string together his fastest sectors at future races.
Like other drivers who have switched teams in 2021, Sainz has struggled to match his teammate as he adapts to a new environment, with progress not helped by the lack of pre-season testing.
At Imola Sainz was only 11th in Q2, while Leclerc started fourth. However the Spaniard says that his best individual sectors were as good as Leclerc’s and it was a matter of perfecting the whole lap.
“I know he's a qualifying expert,” said Sainz. “And particularly in the Ferrari he looks to be really at home and knowing exactly what to expect from the car when it comes to Q2 and Q3 high grip conditions, and he's an expert, he's very, very good driver.
“But at the same time if there's something that I've seen during these first two races it's that I'm not slower than him in any of the corners, really. So I know that if I put the laps together, I can be up there.
“It's now a matter of focusing on how to put those laps together, what does he do, and what can I do to get better at putting those laps together.
“Or maybe I just need a bit more time and more experience. So let's see, but I'm encouraged about what I see on the data, and it's for me more a matter of time."
Sainz said that knowing where to place the car on the kerbs provided a particular challenge at Imola.
“Maybe it was the kerb riding, how the car will react to the kerb, depending on the angle that I attack the kerb,” he said. “And I was caught out a couple of times in all these chicanes by maybe catching the kerb in a different angle, and getting out of position.
“There's very long straights after those kerbs and I was missing one or two tenths in the straight after because of that.
"Basically that's what I'm talking about, just knowing how the car is going to react to which angle, and being super precise on the angle of attack to know that in the next straight I'm not going to lose that tenth and a half that I just made up.
“I'm pretty sure where that where that lap time is, and how it can be extracted."
Related video
Tsunoda set his "goal too high" for Imola F1 race
Bottas: Russell Imola incident "done and dusted" after apology
McLaren explains gaps between qualifying and race pace
McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andreas Seidl has explained that being able to mask the car's lack of downforce in qualifying is behind the large discrepancy between qualifying and race pace.
Why Piastri's F1 attempt to join McLaren carries risky implications
After the 2006 Formula 1 British GP, Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony was a frustrated man, despite his son - at the time a star in GP2 - had just scored a memorable double win in that weekend's feature and sprint events.
Perez: DNFs have been "killing" my F1 season so far
Sergio Perez still believes “everything is open” in the Formula 1 title battles after the summer break despite some DNFs “killing” his season so far.
Alpine: Ocon has what it takes to lead the F1 team in 2023
Alpine Formula 1 boss Otmar Szafnauer believes that Esteban Ocon has what it takes to lead the team following Fernando Alonso’s departure at the end of this season.
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbon fibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? Pat Symonds considers the alternatives to carbon fibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin F1 move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing.
The elements Ferrari must resolve to first save face, then win championships
OPINION: Ferrari's Formula 1 title hopes look all but over after another strategic blunder in last week's Hungarian Grand Prix denied Charles Leclerc the chance to fight for victory, while handing it to chief rival Max Verstappen. The Scuderia now faces intense scrutiny over what it must now do to finally become a genuine factor in championship battles
The clues about Hamilton’s F1 retirement plans after Vettel decision
OPINION: Sebastian Vettel is set to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2022 and will, rather shockingly, be replaced by Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin. But what about the final chapter of the other driver that defined the post-Michael Schumacher era? In Hungary, Lewis Hamilton spoke about his future in the context of Vettel’s upcoming departure, which offered clues on how long it will last.
Why all signs point to F1’s Monaco special relationship continuing
OPINION: With more potential venues than there are slots in future calendars, rumours have been circulating that the Monaco Grand Prix could be a casualty of F1’s expansion into new markets. But Mark Gallagher thinks this is highly unlikely.