‘Unhappy’ Carlos Sainz touts ‘surprise’ Ferrari could spring at United States Grand Prix

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Carlos Sainz’s farewell tour with Ferrari has taken a step back during recent rounds to leave the Spaniard ruing their ‘wasted opportunities’ to part ways with another high.

The 30-year-old went into this season knowing that it would be his final year at the Scuderia before even testing the SF-24. Ferrari moved early to sign Lewis Hamilton in February, whilst Sainz would sign a multi-year contract with Williams this July to retain a spot in the paddock.

A superb start to the term with Sainz winning the Australian Grand Prix and finishing third in Bahrain and Japan showed Ferrari what they were letting go. He also reached the rostrum in Monaco and Austria through June. But P4 in the Italian Grand Prix is Sainz’s best result since.

Carlos Sainz is ‘not happy’ with Ferrari’s form ahead of the United States Grand Prix

Ferrari have not seen the Madrid native appear on a podium in his last seven Grand Prix. But Sainz’s penultimate lap crash with Sergio Perez at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix cost the pair the chance to reach the rostrum. They and Charles Leclerc were in a three-day duel for P2 to P4.

Sainz would not build on his efforts in Baku come the Singapore Grand Prix as crashing in Q3 saw him qualify in P10. Seventh place would even be all that Sainz could secure in Singapore with a 1:36.039 deficit to race-winner Lando Norris, who the Ferrari star beat to win in 2023.

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Leclerc also qualified in P9 for the Singapore GP but improved his position to finish in P5 and 33.6s ahead of his teammate. So, knowing that more has been on offer, Sainz notes he is not happy but is holding out hope that Ferrari improve, starting at the United States Grand Prix.

“In general, the last couple of races have been a bit of a wasted opportunity,” Sainz said, via quote by Motorsport Week. “I’m not happy with how things have gone.”

Sainz added: “At the same time, you never know what’s around the corner. And we might be surprised with how we can perform in Austin, Mexico, Vegas and these tracks. So, I’m gonna keep myself optimistic.”

Carlos Sainz will want to reach the United States GP podium on merit alone in 2024

Ferrari were fast at the Circuit of the Americas last year as Leclerc took pole position for the United States GP and Sainz qualified in fourth. Leclerc was also in the mix in the F1 Sprint in Austin last year. But Sainz needed others to endure misfortune during the United States GP.

Sainz made the podium at COTA in 2023 with P3 but only after the stewards had disqualified Leclerc and Hamilton from the United States GP results for excessive wear to the skid blocks on their respective cars. Ferrari would not see Sainz get another podium in the final rounds.

So, Sainz will hope Ferrari can spring a surprise at the United States GP and that form carries over to the Mexico City Grand Prix and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. F1 then has two weeks off before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Qatar Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to end.

With these being Sainz’s final six rounds with Ferrari, he will be craving a surprise upturn in form. After taking three wins, five pole positions and 21 podiums with the Prancing Horse, the Spaniard will not want to move out of Maranello miserable with what he could achieve.