In the aftermath of the Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari and Carlos Sainz were brought back down to earth after their victory in Melbourne. However, it cannot be denied that the SF-24 is a significant improvement over its predecessor. The car demonstrates excellent tire management during races, while the Red Bull team’s pit wall has shown a knack for devising effective strategies, as evidenced by Charles Leclerc’s impressive climb from eighth on the grid to fourth place.
While McLaren won the battle in qualifying, with Lando Norris securing a third-place start, Sainz was able to surpass the British driver and claim the final spot on the podium thanks to his strong race pace and well-executed strategy.
Sainz expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance in Ferrari’s race report, stating, “It was a successful day for the entire team. We executed a solid race and earned a significant number of points, fully utilizing the potential of our package. Strong starts allowed me to maintain a good position, and from there, we managed the race perfectly. Our pace on both tire compounds was very strong, and we made crucial overtakes to make the strategy work. While we certainly aim to fight higher up the grid, if we continue pushing like this, I am confident that more opportunities will come our way. Now, it’s time to return to the factory with the team and begin preparations for the upcoming race in China.”
Leclerc also shared his thoughts on the race, saying, “If we focus solely on today’s race, I am quite pleased because we couldn’t have done much better. Our pace, tire management, communication, and strategy were all excellent. However, our overall result suffered due to our qualifying performance yesterday. Since Australia, we have encountered difficulties in getting the tires in the optimal temperature range during the out laps in qualifying, which is something we never struggled with before. We need to address this issue in the coming days to ensure we can piece everything together for the race in China.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur summed up the team’s Japanese weekend, stating, “Today, our team displayed a calm and focused approach in order to achieve our objectives. We have made significant progress over the winter, and this progress is evident on the track. Despite a challenging qualifying session, we had a very solid Sunday and secured the best possible result. However, we must work on improving our qualifying performance. The team executed flawlessly during the race, from strategy to tire management. Both drivers did an outstanding job in managing their respective strategies. With Carlos starting closer to the front, we were able to adopt a more aggressive approach, resulting in him charging forward and executing several impressive overtakes. Charles, starting from eighth, faced more limitations, but he delivered an excellent first stint, allowing us to execute a one-stop strategy and gain numerous positions. The result clearly shows that there is still room for improvement if we want to put pressure on Red Bull, and that is our goal starting from the next race in China.”