(Motorsports news) Carlos Sainz finished fifth in the Scuderia’s disastrous performance at Zandvoort as teammate Charles Leclerc was forced to retire due to floor damage. Both drivers complained that the SF-23 vehicle was nervous on the limit and they had “zero idea” how it would behave after the Monegasque wrecked during qualifying.

Ferrari has promised a completely new automobile idea for 2024 and is sure that all the problems have been resolved. Sainz contends that the crew simply needs to keep working on the car for the remainder of the semester. Carlos Sainz continued, “Confidence should be taken from how the Ferrari drivers were able to battle with faster cars in a frenetic rain-hit race,” despite the team’s pace deficit (he led the team’s Dutch Grand Prix qualifying assault in sixth but was 1.187 seconds adrift of polesitter Max Verstappen).

The entire weekend, he claimed, “We were battling with cars that were a lot quicker than us.”It was merely a race of perseverance and accurate call-making. Our speed was much below that required to place fifth. “It implies we did everything right; we successfully completed the race. I’m happy with the outcome, but I’m not happy with how hard I worked and how challenging the situation was for us.”

As the team competes in its home race at low-downforce Monza this weekend, Sainz believed Ferrari might duplicate its podium finish from Spa. Sainz expressed hope for a return to a “normal position” and stated of Monza: “For Monza, I expect better things because in Spa, we were a lot quicker than we were [in Zandvoort] and I think honestly, at low-downforce tracks, we should be better and should be back to our normal position.”

Although Max Verstappen is constantly at the top of the list, team owner Fred Vasseur continued, “What we can expect is that between P2 and P12 is a completely different order from one weekend to the next. “At Spa, we were in excellent condition. Despite the fact that the promise was greater than the outcome, [Zandvoort] was a little more challenging for us.

“Now, every weekend, we have to start over since no one can predict who will be in front. With this kind of convergence of performance, every single detail on the approach – driver management, tyre management, and so on – can make a difference bigger than the difference of the package.”

Also read: Six garages will be added to the Zandvoort F1 pits for 2024