Red Bull may have achieved a 1-2 during the first practice session, but Carlos Sainz believes that Ferrari is closer to Red Bull than expected. Sainz drove a time that was 'only' 0.213 seconds slower than Max Verstappen.
Her double victory in Australia not only gave everyone at Ferrari a mental boost, the neutral F1 fan also hopes that Ferrari will be able to compete strongly with Red Bull in the coming races. Many F1 insiders also see the Japanese GP as a crucial race for the rest of the championship.
If Ferrari can actually compete with Red Bull on the Suzuka circuit, and possibly even win the race, that would be promising for the rest of the F1 season. Carlos Sainz, who won the Australian GP, is confident for the rest of the race weekend in Suzuka after the practice sessions on Friday.
“It wasn’t an ideal Friday because we lost the entire second practice session due to the changing conditions,” said Sainz. “I was looking forward to the afternoon session to continue working on the car’s setup.”
“But the circuit was too wet for slicks and too dry for intermediates, so there was really no point in driving and we decided to stay in the garage. In any case, we were all in the same situation.”
“To be honest, we are a bit closer to the Red Bulls than I expected. Positive signals in terms of the progress we have made over the past five months.”