Carlos Sainz risks Ferrari wrath after slating team’s decision in blunt rant
Carlos Sainz opened up on Ferrari's recent struggles after the British Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz has risked the wrath of his Ferrari bosses after tearing into the doomed upgrade package they introduced in Spain before binning it two rounds later. Ferrari have lagged behind Red Bull and McLaren for large parts of the campaign despite trying to improve their pace with a series of upgrades.
They introduced some new developments at the Spanish Grand Prix but struggled for pace as the changes failed to have the desired impact. It saw Ferrari slip behind Mercedes in the pecking order, with the Silver Arrows having made plenty of progress in recent weeks.
Discussing Ferrari's lack of improvement over the last few Grand Prix weekends, Sainz did not mince his words as he suggested that other teams could be three months ahead in terms of research and development.
Related articles
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
"It's clearly not good enough," fumed Sainz after finishing fifth at Silverstone. "Since Imola, everyone has upgraded and they probably added a few tenths to the car while we had to revert [back to the Imola specification].
"We've lost two or three months there of performance gain in the wind tunnel and performance that we could have added in these three months. I feel like today was at least a back to basics approach, back to a car that we know was okay in Imola.
"We just need to upgrade it from here. Unfortunately, our rivals, it is clear that they are a good step ahead of us."
Don't miss...
George Russell told Lewis Hamilton's 'true feelings' on Mercedes move [NEWS]
Brian May sparks backlash after Martin Brundle 'snub' at British Grand Prix [GOSSIP]
Lewis Hamilton breaks 'Nico Rosberg curse' unlike Max Verstappen and Ferrari [LATEST]
Ferrari had mixed fortunes at the British Grand Prix as the unpredictable weather threw up some tricky challenges for teams and drivers. Charles Leclerc was one of several drivers to suffer from a poor strategy, leaving him well outside the points at the end of the race.
Sainz, however, believes his side of the garage did the best they could have done given the lack of pace at their disposal.
"I think we did the maximum," added the Spaniard. "Especially in the middle of the race when it was slicks on wet, I managed to catch the podium positions by six or seven seconds in those conditions that I always enjoy.
"Honestly, all the calls were pretty much spot on, all the tyres, all the radio calls. It was just a shame we were not faster because I feel like we would have been 100 per cent in the fight for the podium or the win. But [fifth] and a bonus point at the end with the fastest lap, so we need to be happy."
