The SF-24 continues to give excellent responses on the track, with Carlos Sainz feeling immediately comfortable in the SF-24 during Free Practice. Wet conditions obviously complicated things, but the Spaniard wanted to underline how the gap to Red Bull has significantly reduced compared to last year.
SAINZ: “IN THE MORNING I FELT PRETTY GOOD WITH THE CAR”
In FP1, Sainz completed 20 laps to go third-fastest, two-tenths of a second from Max Verstappen’s time. Despite limited track time, Sainz underlined that he was immediately comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-24 along the Suzuka track:
“Not an ideal Friday given that we lost the entire second session due to rain. In the morning session I felt pretty good in the car, and I couldn’t wait to get back on track to continue the set-up work.
“Unfortunately, however, in the afternoon, the asphalt was too wet for the intermediate tyres and, in the last few minutes, too wet for the slicks, so we remained in the garage except for a few laps in the final.
“It’s a shame [the rain], but we are all in the same situation and in any case, we will still have time in tomorrow’s free practice to complete our preparations for qualifying .”
COMPARISON WITH RIVALS: RED BULL AHEAD, BUT NOT TOO MUCH
Evaluating the values on the field only through FP1 is not the best, but Sainz believes that what he saw in the morning confirms Ferrari’s progress, even superior to the predictions the day before:
“Honestly, we are a little closer to Red Bull than I thought.” I waited. These are positive signs in terms of progress made from five months ago to today.
“Obviously, it’s FP1. You don’t know the fuel loads and what modes are running. But last year, we were eight-tenths off in qualifying, and now we’re two-tenths down in FP1.
“It’s a good feeling and a good starting point, but it will be difficult to beat this team.”
Looking at the progress of other teams, Carlos Sainz added:
“I think it seems, once again, a fight with the McLarens and the Mercedes. The Red Bulls are still a step ahead, but a smaller step forward than perhaps I thought. So it should be an interesting fight .”
The SF-24 is a “simply better” machine
In Suzuka, it seems possible Ferrari can continue their excellent start. Carlos Sainz is in an especially strong position, as he feels truly in tune with the SF-24. In this regard, the Spaniard explained:
“I was confident in Bahrain, I was confident in Jeddah, I was confident in Australia. And I was confident this morning when I left here.
“We did some good winter testing. We understood the car well. We found the setup and more, and the car seems to work everywhere. Plus, the car is just better this year, which helps .”
