Carlos Sainz expressed his desire to keep things going well and promised to take any chance that presented itself at the Singapore Grand Prix after finishing on the podium in Monza.
Ferrari’s performance in 2023 has been less spectacular. Only four podium finishes have been claimed by the Italian team after 14 races, including one by Sainz in the most recent Italian Grand Prix and three by Charles Leclerc.
Although it won’t be simple, Ferrari hopes to overtake Mercedes to finish second in the constructors’ title despite the Silver Arrows’ desire for a great season-ending performance. Ferrari trails Mercedes by 45 points.
The two Ferrari drivers find themselves wedged between Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the championship standings. Sainz is in fifth place with 117 points with Leclerc in sixth place and six points behind his teammate.
Ferrari had a successful weekend at Monza thanks to the car’s low downforce. On Sunday, Sainz finished on the podium after earning a solid pole position.
However, the Spaniard is optimistic about the weekend even though Singapore doesn’t fundamentally fit into the specifications of his car.
“After a good weekend in Monza, what you want is to continue the streak,” Sainz told the Spanish media. “Also, being a bit more realistic, circuits like Monza haven’t been the norm this year.
“The usual situation has been to be a bit further back.”
“High downforce circuits like Singapore are a bit more challenging for us, and we’ll have to see how the car adapts.
“But if there’s even a slight opportunity, we’ll go for it, just like we did in Monza.”
While both Red Bull drivers have expressed numerous issues regarding the car and had a less productive day, Mercedes and McLaren have both demonstrated a faster pace on the circuit and could point to an intriguing weekend.
Ferrari has had a strong start to the weekend despite Singapore not being anticipated to be particularly favorable for the Italian team, as was previously mentioned. With a strong pace and promising signals, Sainz and Leclerc dominated both of Friday’s open practice sessions.
Leclerc claimed the pole position at Marina Bay last year after a very close qualifying session in which the top four finishers stood apart by only two tenths of a second. However, Sergio Perez won the race, although Ferrari was able to claim the second and third place.
The Marina Bay Circuit is now significantly faster as a result of the introduction of a straight in place of corners 16, 17, 18, and 19. Contrary to projections, this could indicate a successful weekend for Ferrari given the usual chaos in Singapore.
However, the real challenge will take place on Saturday, when we’ll get to witness how the teams really perform during qualifying.
