Carlos Sainz Believes Bouncing in High-Speed Corners is Ferrari’s Achilles’ Heel at Spanish Grand Prix
In a candid assessment, Carlos Sainz has pinpointed bouncing in high-speed corners as the primary reason behind Ferrari’s underwhelming performance at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari driver, along with teammate Charles Leclerc, had high hopes of securing a pole position at Barcelona but ultimately found themselves on the third row, with McLaren’s Lando Norris claiming the top spot ahead of Max Verstappen and the Mercedes duo.
Despite introducing a significant upgrade package, Ferrari’s prospects were ultimately derailed by their inability to tame the high-speed porpoising issue. “We’ve been struggling all weekend with the high-speed corners,” Sainz revealed. “We still have this phenomenon, bouncing phenomenon, that gives us a very tough time in the high-speed corners. Probably this is also killing a bit the tyre for the third sector. I don’t know.”
The Spanish driver expressed frustration at still grappling with porpoising in high-speed corners, a issue that has plagued the team since the introduction of the current regulations. “It’s been tough all weekend to try and get rid of it. And still we haven’t managed to get rid of it. We come to this track, and you can see McLaren and Red Bull with zero bouncing, and I think they’re doing a good job.”
Sainz revealed that Ferrari remained optimistic about their chances of securing pole position until the Q2 session, when it became apparent that their rivals had managed to extract more pace from their cars. “We kind of realise that Red Bull, when they turn it up, and McLaren when they turn it up, they had an edge over us,” he said.
“I’ve had a very difficult time until quali really, until FP3 I would say. FP1 and FP2 were extremely difficult for me. FP1, we had the old package, we had to obviously do the compare between the two cars which was needed. In FP2, the car felt really out of place and the balance was really struggling. Today we changed basically, not everything, but a lot of things in the car. In FP3, I felt straight away much more at ease. However, the pace is just not there.”
- Charles Leclerc
Formula 1 today, Ferrari’s struggles in qualifying have raised questions about their ability to challenge for the championship title. As the season reaches its midpoint, the Scuderia will need to address their porpoising issues and find a way to bridge the gap to their rivals if they hope to remain in contention.
Formula 1 qualifying has often been a strong suit for Ferrari, but their struggles at the Spanish Grand Prix have highlighted the need for improvement. With the Formula 1 tyres playing a crucial role in high-speed corners, Ferrari’s inability to master this aspect of the track has cost them dearly.
As the paddock looks ahead to the race, Ferrari will be hoping to recover from their disappointing qualifying performance and make the most of their third-row starting positions. With Formula 1 news suggesting that the team’s upgrade package has not delivered the expected gains, it remains to be seen whether they can turn their fortunes around and challenge for the podium.
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