Carlos Sainz has bemoaned a ‘phenomenon’ that is ‘killing’ Ferrari after his difficult qualifying session at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix saw the home hero settle for P6.
The 29-year-old had hoped for a much more competitive week for his final visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as a Scuderia star. Sainz will leave Ferrari after the 2024 season has finished to make space for Lewis Hamilton in Maranello as the teammate for Charles Leclerc.
Sainz had also topped the timesheet in FP3 after pipping Lando Norris to P1 with a 1:13.013. But while the McLaren ace posted a 1:11.383 to take pole position, the Madrid native would register a 1:11.736. Leclerc even finished qualifying for the Spanish GP in P5 with a 1:11.731.
Carlos Sainz bemoans Ferrari’s porpoising in qualifying for the Spanish GP
Neither Ferrari driver also managed to out-qualify Red Bull racer Max Verstappen (1:11.403) and the Mercedes duo of Hamilton (1:11.701) and George Russell (1:11.703). Sainz’s pace in FP2 with the second-fastest lap or in FP3 did not continue when it mattered come Saturday.
But while Sainz was competitive in practice, Leclerc often laboured down the timesheet with P11 in FP1 and P6 in FP2 but P3 in FP3. Sainz has also now revealed that Ferrari have faced a tough weekend at the Spanish GP trying to get on top of their porpoising, unlike their rivals.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
Sainz thinks McLaren and Red Bull are not struggling like Ferrari with bouncing in high-speed corners. He also claims it has been an issue for the Scuderia all weekend, which is frustrating the 2024 Australian GP winner as Formula 1 is now in its third year of its current regulations.
“We’ve been struggling all weekend with the high-speed corners,” Sainz fumed, via quotes by Autosport. “We still have this phenomenon, bouncing phenomenon, that gives us a very tough time in the high-speed corners.
“Probably this is also killing a bit the tyre for the third sector. I don’t know. But still the third year of these regulations [and] I’m fighting this porpoising in high-speed corners when you put lateral load in the car. And it’s been tough all weekend to try and get rid of it.
“Still we haven’t managed to get rid of it. We come to this track, and you can see McLaren and Red Bull with zero bouncing, and I think they’re doing a good job.”
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc may have to watch their mirrors
Sainz will fear another difficult day in the Spanish GP on Sunday if Ferrari are struggling with bouncing to ‘kill’ their tyres. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has high-speed corners at Turns 3, 7, 9, 13 and 14. Even the first T1-2 chicane boasts a reasonably high entry speed.
Turn 3, especially, is a tyre killer as the long, right-hand bend puts a lot of stress through the Pirelli rubber. If Ferrari’s bouncing woes heighten with high fuel, too, Sainz and Leclerc could be in for a long day as they potentially watch their mirrors for Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri.
Red Bull and McLaren each have a driver further down the order than they would want in the Spanish GP. Perez could only qualify in P8 and drops back with a three-place grid penalty from the Canadian GP. Piastri also ruined his only flying run in Q3 to end the session in 10th.
The post ‘Struggling’: Carlos Sainz bemoans ‘phenomenon’ that is ‘killing’ Ferrari at Spanish GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.