Carlos Sainz, the only Ferrari to cross the finish line in Bahrain.
Carlos Sainz finished fourth in the first race of the season, at the 2023 Bahrain GP, where he was the only Ferrari to see the checkered flag after Charles Leclerc abandoned due to reliability problems. The Spaniard was in podium position until he found himself overtaken by his good friend Fernando Alonso a few laps from the end.
Sainz explained to the media after the race that, due to the high degradation of his tires, he was already afraid of suffering against Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, since the AMR23 cared for its tires much better.
“We tried everything. In the first stint we held on quite well,” Carlos, who started fourth and held fourth position at the start, explained to DAZN F1, and his teammate, Charles Leclerc, managed to move up to second place after a poor start from the Red Bulls. “Little by little the race took shape and in the end we finished where we deserved,” said Carlos.
“We saw from the tests that Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso would make things difficult for us. If (Alonso) came to have been fourth after the start, it would have been difficult (to keep him behind)”, explained Carlos, who pointed out that in this circuit Ferrari will not I expected to be up.
“This circuit was not our forte due to the high degradation. It gave us little room to fight. When I was fighting with Fernando I ran out of wheels, then I recovered them and I was able to defend myself against Hamilton. The slightest you pull, you run out of wheels wheels”, said Sainz.
One of the most exciting moments of the Bahrain Grand Prix was the battle between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz at the end of the race for third place. It has been very intense, and there has been a moment where they almost touched each other, but there has also been great respect between the two.
“Fernando and I always respect each other. It has been a beautiful battle, but hard and beautiful. (Fernando) deserves the podium for the good work they have done. We, in the next few, will try to do better,” added the man from Madrid.
