Despite Red Bull’s dominance in the season opener, Carlos Sainz Jnr found solace in his close finish behind Sergio Perez, drawing encouragement from his performance.
Securing the final podium spot, Sainz trailed race winner Max Verstappen by 25 seconds but was merely under three seconds adrift of Perez.
With successful overtakes on George Russell and twice on his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, Sainz expressed greater satisfaction with the beginning of the 2024 season compared to numerous races last year.
“I’m very happy,” Sainz remarked. “When we launched the car, I recall saying, ‘This year, I hope I have a car to overtake and not to defend.’ Last year, I spent my whole year defending.”
“As we entered the first race, I found myself attacking and executing overtakes, which brings me joy. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the move.”
Acknowledging the substantial gap between Ferrari and Verstappen, Sainz emphasized that the performance of his new car indicates the team’s progress is going in the right direction.
“I’m content with the overtakes, with the race pace,” he affirmed. “Keeping up with Checo towards the end wasn’t easy, but we managed. There’s still a long road ahead to match Max, but considering we’re at the most challenging circuit for rear tyres, which isn’t ideal for our car, it’s a positive.”
“Moreover, being within that close distance – two or three seconds – where you can’t fully exhibit your pace due to dirty air, indicates significant progress. It highlights there’s still a considerable gap to close to beat Max. Nevertheless, we made overtakes, preserved tyre condition, and had an enjoyable race. I truly relished it.”
