Carlos Sainz Jr. on Ferrari’s F1 Performance: “Leclerc Makes the Difference”

Carlos Sainz Jr. believes that Ferrari has the fastest F1 car for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, thanks to teammate Charles Leclerc’s impressive qualifying performance.

Leclerc secured his fourth consecutive pole position in Baku, with a 0.3-second lead over the rest of the field. Sainz, who qualified third behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, praised Leclerc for making the difference in the fierce battle for the lead.

“I think it’s a very difficult situation,” Sainz said of this weekend’s pecking order. “Charles said this is one of his best tracks and he always tends to be a few tenths quicker than the Ferraris around here, so I guess that’s why we look like the quicker car.”

“But to be honest, I think the difference between the top four cars is less than 0.2 seconds, so I think it will be an exciting battle and an exciting race tomorrow.”

Sainz stressed that braking was a major part of Leclerc’s advantage on the narrow, twisty streets of Baku, where he was 0.4 seconds behind.

“In Baku it’s all about braking and having the confidence to stop the car as late as possible, trusting that the car will turn into the corner,” Sainz explained.

“Yes, that’s where he’s good and where he’s been particularly comfortable since the start of FP1.”

Sainz revealed that he was able to unleash more of his Ferrari’s potential towards the end of the session, but it was too late to challenge Leclerc.

“In Q3 we were able to find some things to increase the pace a bit more than we showed in Q1 and Q2,” Sainz revealed. “Maybe we found it a bit too late.”

“When I found them, I wanted to do some laps a little earlier and get used to driving the car that way. And I felt like I could be more competitive.”

Sainz suggested that it was a gradual step towards adapting his driving to the specific demands of the circuit.

“Little things you can do in qualifying to make the car stop a little easier in the long braking sections. That gives you the confidence to brake after three or five metres. That’s the basics.”

“Usually I feel very comfortable on street tracks like Singapore and Monaco, but Baku has never been like this in my 10 years in F1, so it’s interesting.”

“But every year I come back here and try to improve, to find more advantages in my riding. But it’s not very natural for me.