Carlos Sainz has urged his Ferrari teammates not to get too discouraged by their recent reliability issues and reminds them of the big step the team took this year.
After spending years fighting to become the third best team on the grid, Ferrari found themselves back at the top of the table following a massive rule change.
At the start of the season, it looked like they would take both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships to Canter after Red Bull suffered from early reliability issues.
But, as we get to the midpoint of the season, the roles reverse. Charles Leclerc has retired from two of the last three races and Sainz joins him in Baku.
However, the Spaniard has urged caution and wants his team to focus on steps taken from the previous campaign, rather than its recent issues.
“You can’t escape the fact that we were coming into the season with the aim of being competitive again and we managed to exceed our expectations by being so competitive,” Sainz told Motorsport.com.
very difficult result. We opened the gap to save the tyres, but on lap 9 there was a hydraulic problem and that was it. With the Charles issue, it is a difficult day for our team and fans. We are a very strong team and we will overcome this. long way to go.
https://t.co/VS8aBqQyaS pic.twitter.com/wQnoZoE2XI
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) 12 June 2022
“It put us in the fight for the championship, but we need to remember that this is our first year. We’ve made a big step forward on the engine on power, we’ve taken a big step forward in understanding these rules, and we’re going to take a big step forward on this. Still quite new to getting back in the fight.
“We’ve been suffering from some reliability issues lately, but for me, that’s fine if it’s going to happen in the process of rebuilding the team and especially when you take such a big step on the engine.
“When you have an idea of where we’re coming from, and the steps we’ve managed to take this year, all of a sudden, it doesn’t feel so bad. We’re just hitting the road.”
Despite not winning a race since Melbourne and seeing Max Verstappen snatch his championship lead, his teammate Leclerc was almost on par.
“I think the peace is still there,” he said, as reported by Motorsport.com. “I think it’s fundamental that we keep it calm, because that’s what brought us back to those winning days.
“It’s obviously a tough time for the team, after the last three races and the problems we’ve been facing. We need to remain calm, but obviously also know this is an issue that we need to address as soon as possible.” Needs a quick fix.But I think we find the right balance.
“I have confidence in this team, because they are giving 200% as usual, obviously, and I am sure that once we fix our issues, we will be able to hold back Red Bull.”
