Carlos Sainz and Ferrari did not have the best possible Friday in the last Grand Prix of the year. In fact, the Spanish rider acknowledged that it was one of the most difficult days of the season so far since the category returned from the summer break at the end of August.
Despite having managed to finish in the top ten in FP2, the Madrid driver was honest and acknowledged that nothing had gone as expected in the Maranello team.
Although the sensations were not the most positive, Sainz wanted not to be too negative and was confident about the possibilities that Ferrari has to turn the situation around for the rest of the 2021 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
These were the words of Carlos Sainz at the end of Friday at Yas Marina: “It was one of my most challenging days of the second half of the season. Since the start of FP1 I just haven’t felt comfortable with the car, which It’s strange because in the last six races I haven’t had to adjust the car or my driving too much.
“But today for some reason, maybe due to track changes and tarmac, the set-up wasn’t what we expected, and I wasn’t happy. Now we’re trying to see what we can change for tomorrow.”
“The feeling with the medium tire at the start of FP2 was better, but as the session went on it was back to the feeling of FP1 and actually when the session ended I wasn’t very positive about it, and felt like I didn’t We had taken so many steps forward,” he added.
Despite all of the above, Carlos Sainz acknowledged that he knows what he could do to make the Ferrari SF21 a little more competitive tomorrow, although the time is getting shorter and they will only have one hour of practice before reaching the last classification of the year. .
“I know what things tend to help or not help with the balance I have in the car, so I feel like at least I have an idea of what we can try tomorrow.
Lastly, the Spanish driver of the Italian team spoke about the changes made to the Yas Marina track and said that it could increase the number of overtaking that we have every year at the Abu Dhabi GP, a source of criticism for a few seasons.
“I think it’s definitely going to help. How much is hard to say because it still looks like it’s going to be very difficult to follow other cars, especially in Turn 1 and 2, which are the turns before the two DRS zones. close, I think overtaking should be a possibility,” he concluded.
Carlos Sainz during the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP:
