Sainz claims Ferrari are not quick enough at the moment

Following a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz insists that the Maranello-based outfit is "simply not quick enough" regardless of any strategic solutions.

Having started from P7 on the grid, Carlos Sainz went for the hards, and despite the harder compound, he managed to pass Lando Norris to move up to sixth at the start.

The Spaniard stayed out until lap 20 to switch to Mediums, but he made a very early second tyre change, dropping his yellow-banded tyres for another set of hards. In the closing stages, Sainz caught Sergio Perez without too much bother and passed him to finish seventh.

“We took some risks starting with the hard tire,” commented the Spaniard. “We also gained a position, so I was very optimistic and positive about this strategy.

"We managed to stretch it to the 20th lap. In hindsight, not enough, because probably doing just one stop seemed possible today. And yes, probably the most important thing is that we didn’t do either a one-stop or an optimal two-stop strategy. It’s easy to say now, in hindsight, but it seemed to me that the race promised much more.”

“I thought we could have a shot at the podium and then suddenly I ended up in seventh place, nine seconds behind the sixth,” he continues. “So, it’s clear that there’s something we need to examine. At the same time, I believe our direct competitors were faster today, and I don’t think it would have changed much.”

“We should have tried to extend it by at least 10 laps. Or, if we had done two stops, maybe we should have stopped five or six laps earlier to spend as much time as possible on the hard tire, which was our goal today.”

Despite the improvement shown by the SF-24 at the Hungaroring and at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchampps, the Madrid-born driver thinks there is still much work to be done to close the gap with others.

“Compared to Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren, we are still two or three tenths behind in the race. With my car, it seemed like we were in the fight for the podium and then, as soon as everyone put on the hard tires, we saw their pace.

"I felt competitive and fast, then when I heard the others’ times, I thought: ‘No, I’m not as fast as I would have liked," concluded Sainz.