That penalty was earned for a change of the control electronics unit after Leclerc retired from the Bahrain season-opener, while Sainz was fourth a fortnight ago asInitially the team attributed the extreme degradation to the abrasive Bahrain circuit, but the SF-23 duo’s inability in Saudi Arabia to move forward on hard tyres during the final stint has now left Sainz in no doubt that the car has a more fundamental pace deficit.
Sainz said: “The last stint on the hard [tyres] proves that we are not where we want to be, that we still deg more than theGiven the SF-23’s low drag aero concept and top speed advantage in Bahrain, Ferrari had anticipated being second fastest behind Red Bull at the flowing and fast Saudi street track.
The actual performance left Sainz “surprised” and he is now clear in his mind that car upgrades rather than simple set-up tweaks will be required to fight Perez andHis reaction to the race was: “[I’m] a bit surprised because after Friday and before the weekend, I thought that we had a chance of being the second force here in Jeddah.
Carlossainz55 ScuderiaFerrari He lacks pace, not the car