Miguel A. Herguedas
Updated Monday, April 8, 2024-00:30
Chronicle Superb podium for Sainz, with Alonso firm in defense
World Cup 2024 Verstappen, leader
Japanese GP Classification and times
They have spent 70 races together at Ferrari and the pulse between
Carlos Sainz
and
Charles Leclerc
could not be more even. Since that now distant 2021 Bahrain GP, the Scuderia drivers
have
added three victories and 19 podiums each. However, the current moment favors the man from Madrid, the fittest man at the moment - with the permission of
Max Verstappen
- capable of securing a third place of great merit yesterday in Suzuka. This resounding start to the World Championship, with plenty of podiums in three races, places Sainz as the most sought-after piece on the market.
To know more
Fernando Alonso.
"One of the five best races of my life, although no one will remember"
Editor: MIGUEL A. HERGUEDAS
"One of the five best races of my life, although no one will remember"
The Japanese GP showed how comfortable Carlos feels behind the wheel of the SF-24 and the ease with which he extracts its full potential even in adverse situations. The most delicate moment came yesterday during his changeover with the used medium tires with which he ran between laps 16 and 36. Ferrari had decided to divide the strategy (two stops with Sainz and one with Leclerc) and there some doubts appeared, because the Madrid native He knew the effort that overtaking would require. To prepare for the maneuver in Turn 1, the most common area at Suzuka, he had to hit the nail on the head in the
chicane
at the entrance to the finish line. So once the hard tire was fitted, he applied himself to it with strict discipline.
During those last 17 laps, Sainz showed a very competitive pace and easily surpassed
Lewis Hamilton
(lap 38),
Lando Norris
(lap 44) and Leclerc (lap 46). Although that speed was not enough to hunt down
Sergio Pérez
, the truth is that his times ranged between 1:33.841 and 1:35.293. In fact, on eight of those 17 laps he was even faster than Verstappen, whose tires were just two laps older.
Cut half against Red Bull
Likewise, the 20.8 seconds that he lost at the finish line against
Mad Max
represent half of what was delivered by Leclerc, fourth six months ago on that same asphalt (43.9 seconds). In fact, Ferrari improved its pace per lap by 1.74 seconds compared to 2023, a record only lower than that of Aston Martin (1.86).
As Carlos himself explained, the dense clouds that filled the sky during the final stretch lowered the levels of tire degradation, Ferrari's weak point until very recently. The improvement in this management was also reflected in Leclerc, whose efficiency in taking care of the tires made him lose only five hundredths per lap. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls lost 12 hundredths on average and
Lewis Hamilton
, 14. During his relay with the media, which he was able to stretch for 25 laps, the Monegasque unceremoniously overtook the McLarens,
Fernando Alonso
and Hamilton.
And the great success yesterday of the
main team
,
Frédéric Vasseur
, was that well-worked double strategy, with which their cars executed the race. "Instead of looking in the rearview mirrors all the time, now I can compensate with the strategy and then overtake, which is something that was never on the table last year," Sainz said. During the preseason, everyone in Maranello would have signed this 21-point deficit compared to Red Bull after four races.
28 hundredths over Leclerc
Sainz would also have felt happy with his current situation, a peak in form that places him on the radar of Mercedes, Aston Martin and Red Bull. At 29 years old, in his physical and technical prime, Carlos not only knows that it is worth taking risks in these last 20 races with Ferrari, but also that his successes will further enhance his cachet. Yesterday, his race pace was 28 hundredths faster than Leclerc's. And if his repertoire were not extensive, during this start he has also dominated his teammate (2-1) in the Saturday classifications, the great specialty of the Monegasque. In fact, the only regret he hears is that lost opportunity in Jeddah due to appendicitis.
"We want to fight a little higher, but if we continue pushing like this, I'm sure we will have more opportunities," Carlos concluded yesterday after the podium ceremony. Returning to the factory to analyze the data now represents the first step towards the Chinese GP. And on a still distant horizon those pair of aerodynamic updates should appear with which to approach Red Bull in a more consistent way.
Sainz's state of grace contrasts with the problems that
Lewis Hamilton
has been experiencing , the man who will occupy his seat from 2025. One more week, the seven-time champion performed below his capabilities, with a discouraging languor, especially during the two
stints.
with hard rubber. His usual criticism of the engineers regarding the strategy only diminished in the final stretch, when he did know how to adapt better than Russell to the medium tire. In any case, Sir Lewis completed the worst of his 14 participations in Suzuka, a ninth place. At the moment, as in 2023, he is losing to Russell on both Saturdays (1-3) and Sundays (0-3).