The 2023 season has been a game of catch-up for every team other than Red Bull. The Milton-Keynes outfit was on a 15-race-winning streak going into the Singapore GP last weekend. Coming out of it, though, the win-streak meter went back to 0. It was all thanks to Carlos Sainz and Ferrari. The Scuderia had a tough first half of the season. When teams turned up in Bahrain for testing and the first race, the SF-23 was the third-best car on the grid at best. Considering that, who would’ve thought Ferrari and Sainz would be the first to break Red Bull’s seemingly unbreakable streak?

Even when Ferrari showed signs of improvement, it was always Charles Leclerc people placed their bets on. Never Sainz. With how the first half played out, that seemed fair because Leclerc was the leading Ferrari more often than not. But since the summer break, the fortunes have flipped. To add to Leclerc’s woes, Sainz stomped over the Monegasque’s feeling about the SF-23.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz aren’t comfortable with the SF-23

Seeing how Ferrari has been the third or fourth-best team for most of the season, Sainz claimed that 5th and 6th place are the best Ferrari can fight for. In response to this, Leclerc said, “My goal is to fight for wins, not fighting for 5th, 6th place.” After the summer break, it wasn’t Leclerc who stepped up to the challenge. It was Sainz. In Monza, he qualified on pole and finished 3rd ahead of Leclerc. In Singapore, he secured pole again and won the race. After the Singapore GP, Leclerc shared a few insights.

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He said, “Carlos in Monza and Singapore has been very strong. I’m not completely comfortable with the car at the moment. There’s a bit too much understeer for my liking. I struggle to drive around it. So there’s a bit of work to do. But it’s, first of all, great to see that the competitiveness seems to be up there, that Carlos feels at ease.” After the summer break, Ferrari introduced major upgrades to the SF-23, and it’s evident they’ve made the car that understeers more. While that suits Sainz’s driving style, it hasn’t made driving the car easier. He said so on the BBC’s Chequered Flag Podcast.

In the build-up to the Japanese GP, Sainz was asked if the car’s development is favoring his driving style. Sainz replied, “Honestly, I don’t feel like the car has come anywhere near what I want or what I like, apart from obviously working on setup tweaks and things that could help me and my own driving and what I want from the car. But the car is still a tricky car to drive. It’s still a car that hasn’t given us an easy time this year.” As Sainz quashed Leclerc’s beliefs about the SF-23, there’s no doubt he’ll feel disappointed in himself. Even more so than after the Singapore GP.

Is Carlos Sainz Now Ferrari’s Number 1 Guy Over Charles Leclerc?

Charles Leclerc couldn’t have been more disappointed after his Singapore outing

On a street circuit, there’s probably no session more crucial than qualifying. Because of how difficult it usually is to overtake on tracks like the Marina Bay Circuit, starting as high up the order as possible is every driver’s aim. In the first half of the season, qualifying was where Leclerc was capitalizing on Sainz. In the second half, though, Sainz seems to have found his groove, edging out Leclerc in all three sessions so far. 

Starting in P3, Leclerc was on a different tire strategy compared to Sainz. While he got off the line well, a slow pit stop ruined any chances of a podium. Ultimately, he crossed the line fourth—20 seconds behind his teammate. Understandably, a P4 wasn’t the result Leclerc wanted. After the race, he said, “It means a lot for the team to win this race after all the hard work. It’s a great reward for all our work this year as a team. But I cannot hide my disappointment as I wanted a better result today. But it’s up to me to do a better job [in qualifying].”

Do you think the SF-23’s driveability favors Carlos Sainz? Or is it just as bad for him as it is for Charles Leclerc?

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