After two very positive weeks of pre-season for Ferrari, most teams have bet on them before the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season.
However, since Barcelona the team has kept a low profile and has tried to minimize expectations, especially its drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who will share a garage for the second consecutive season.
Speaking from the Sakhir International Circuit, the Spanish driver assured that he is trying not to get too excited for now, but acknowledged that his point of view could change if the F1-75 is really competitive during practice.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he thought Ferrari felt likely to win, Sainz replied: “Not really, because it’s something you still don’t want to fully believe in.”
“In your mind you want to come here and be ready to fight for the win, because as a driver you want to be ready, but you also have to try not to get too caught up in all the hype that’s around us right now.”
“I’m ready for whatever comes because I’ve been working for this weekend for a long time. But maybe I’ll be a little bit more ready after FP1, FP2, FP3, maybe after those sessions I’ll start setting my expectations a little bit higher. or lower”.
In the other part of the box, Charles Leclerc , who has praised Ferrari ‘s work in recent weeks, believes that Red Bull is the team that has the advantage over the rest at the moment.
“Maybe I’m a bit more pessimistic,” said the Monegasque driver. “I feel like we’re still a little bit behind Red Bull .”
“I don’t think we’re a second behind like last year, or even more the season before. I feel like we’re going to be closer, that’s for sure, so this is already a good sign.”
“But I still think they are the favourites. So we have to work as hard as we can tomorrow to seize the day and be as prepared as possible for Saturday, and hopefully we will be fighting for the win. But I still see us a little bit behind RedBull .”
Although still unsure of Ferrari ‘s real competitiveness, Leclerc said the team had every reason to be satisfied with what it had done this winter.
“I think we are actually very well prepared. All the tests we wanted have been done during pre-season testing.”
“We didn’t have any major problems, which is a great sign. I think this is the main reason why we have a smile on our faces after testing.”
“Not for competitiveness, because for that we don’t know yet, but for reliability, for not having any problems and for working well in general as a team,” Leclerc concluded in the run-up to the Bahrain Grand Prix.
