Carlos Sainz admits that Ferrari were surprised at being outpaced by Mercedes in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Scuderia had expected a better weekend in Jeddah than at the season-opening race in Bahrain, but Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc ultimately finished behind George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Given their struggles with race pace, Sainz acknowledges that Ferrari have some work to do after losing ground to the Silver Arrows.
Sainz: Ferrari need to bring some upgrades
When asked by Sky Sports F1 if he had been "surprised" by Mercedes during the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Sainz explained: "Yes, a bit. "After Friday practice, even before coming into the weekend, we thought we had them and we thought we were quick. "Even after quali[fying], with Charles' lap, [where] I think he did a brilliant lap, and I struggled. "We thought in race pace we were going to be okay, [but] we were not okay. "[There is] work to do, development to come, but unfortunately we need time to bring these developments. Until they come, this is what we have. "I think the last stint on the Hard [compound], we were the two cars falling back. We still need to bring some upgrades."
Ferrari were 'fourth fastest' in Jeddah
While Red Bull took another 1-2 victory in Jeddah, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso completed the podium ahead of Russell and Hamilton in fourth and fifth respectively, while Sainz and Leclerc claimed sixth and seventh. Sainz believes that this result shows the need for Ferrari to improve. "I think, right now, we were the fourth fastest car on track," the Spaniard added. "We need to see why, we need to improve. It's already [been] two different tracks where our race pace is not great, so we know we have work to do."
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