Ferrari behind Alonso: Carlos Sainz’s bitter admission

The admission is as bitter as it is clear: the podium did not escape by accident.

Carlos Sainz brought the only Ferrari to the finish line in the Bahrain Grand Prix only in fourth place, behind not only the Red Bulls but also Fernando Alonso. And according to the Cavallino Spaniard, the state of form of his compatriot’s Aston Martin is no coincidence.

“Honestly, after what we saw in testing and free practice here in Bahrain, to be behind the Aston Martin doesn’t surprise me,” Sainz explained to ‘Sky Sport.’ “I didn’t honestly think I could fight for the podium here, and we had another proof of that both on the degradation that Alonso had after the first stint and on their pace. Which was superior to ours.”

“The Bahrain circuit is not good for us,” Sainz added, “We overheat the tires here, especially the rear tires. It happened to me even when I tried to up the pace to defend myself from Alonso. The overheating became such that not only did I lose position to Fernando, but I was also in danger of finishing behind Hamilton. This is a problem we have to work on, because others in the race can push while we have to focus on the tires. We have to save them because of the degradation and we cannot give our best.”