The Ferrari garage ended up disappointed with the way in which the last weekend of competition ended, and that is when they were preparing to fight for the victory of the Italian Grand Prix against the almighty Max Verstappen, a safety car caused by Daniel Ricciardo in The final moments left the Prancing Horse men without any chance of approaching the Dutchman with Charles Leclerc.
However, on the other side of the wall, the day at Monza was much more fruitful for Carlos Sainz, who, after a penalty for changing elements in his power unit, ended up relegated to the bottom of the grid on Sunday. The man from Madrid took precedence over all the challenges that were presented to him and came back to garner a fourth position that could have become a podium if it hadn’t been for that Safety Car that prevented him from hunting down George Russell’s Mercedes.
Despite not having been able to climb to third position and savor the champagne in front of all the tifosi that filled the Monza track, the Spaniard confidently arrived at the return of the Asian event to the Formula 1 calendar after three years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a discreet sixth place he appeared in the first free practices, but in the night session he ended up being the fastest in a Ferrari one-two: “Many challenges on the first day in Singapore. We have managed to complete the entire work program, but also We have encountered some difficulties, especially with the set-up and the balance of the car.”
“We have not found the best solution in Free Practice 1, but in FP2 we have been able to improve sensations”, explained the rider from Madrid. “We still have to work and find some time, especially in the long runs.”
“It looks like it will be close at the top of the table, so we have to make the most of every aspect of the weekend,” said the Spaniard, who is fifth in the overall drivers’ standings but can still be runner-up if he cuts the 32 points that his teammate, Charles Leclerc, takes from him.
The Monegasque, for his part, wants to prevent his rival for the title, Max Verstappen, from being proclaimed the winner and, at least, hopes to extend the fight for another week until the Japanese Grand Prix : “Our performance has been good, but unfortunately, today we had a limited shooting”.
“It’s not ideal, so we have to make sure we do a clean FP3 to also work on our race pace. Our qualifying speed looks strong, and we’re going to aim for pole position.”
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