Carlos Sainz travels to the Singapore Grand Prix buoyed by a strong showing in Italy, where he secured third place on the podium after a demanding duel with Red Bull and a close contest with his teammate Charles Leclerc. Yet the Madrid native approaches Marina Bay with a careful mindset, aware that Ferrari has faced higher aerodynamic loads at other circuits this season. He knows this weekend could be tougher than Monza.
“I’m not sure Monza was my best performance, because I stayed confident in recent races and felt more assured by the car. Overall, I’m driving better than last year, and I can see that, especially in the last race”, Sainz stated at the FIA press briefing in Singapore. “My driving is growing more consistent, and I aim to keep that momentum here.”
“From day one this season, I’ve felt more in sync with the car, which wasn’t the case last year. Red Bull remains ahead, and we’re competing with Mercedes, Aston Martin, or McLaren depending on each track’s traits. I don’t know exactly where we’ll stand with them this weekend”, Sainz added.
When discussing the Marina Bay circuit’s characteristics, the Madrid native noted: “The realistic expectation is that we won’t be as constant as we were in Monza—high speed and low downforce have showcased our best results this year. Still, we’ve learned a lot about performance on high-load circuits and hope to discover a viable setup for this weekend. It’s always hot here, tires behave differently, and the race demands a high level of physical effort. Predicting exact performance is challenging, but there are always safety tools that open up possibilities”, Sainz concluded.
}