F1 | Ferrari, Sainz: “I had to manage the tires for almost the entire race”

Seventh position for Carlos Sainz at the end of the Qatar Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver, after starting from fifth place on medium tires due to penalties from others, was unable to maintain the pace during the race, also finishing behind Ocon and Stroll, who started behind him. All in all, therefore, the performance of the Spaniard and the SF21 was not great, but other points were collected for third place as constructors given the result obtained by Norris and Ricciardo with McLaren.

“Today's race was certainly not a particularly exciting one, given that we had to manage the tires most of the time – Sainz admitted. However, I think we did a good job managing to complete a strategy at a stop that we were doubtful about before the start. As I feared, the start on the medium tires was difficult because I struggled to fight with the cars around me. From after the start I concentrated on extending my first stint as much as possible and then taking care of the Hards in the opening laps of the second. When they told me we were calm and could push until the end of the race I was finally able to have fun. I reached Ocon and Stroll but found myself in a little train where everyone had DRS and I wasn't able to attempt to overtake. Overall it was a positive hat-trick, in which I was always comfortable with the car and fast in every session. We also increased our lead over McLaren and we can be happy about that. Before tackling the last two races of the season, some rest is needed, especially for the mechanics and the guys on the track team. Thanks for the great work guys! Finally I want to congratulate Fernando for today's wonderful race. Seeing him on the podium again was fantastic."