With Leclerc out in the fight for pole position due to a 10-position penalty for using more elements than allowed in his power unit, Sainz is, necessarily, the leader of Ferrari this weekend.
Leaving aside Red Bull’s unstoppable winning streak since the Milton Keynes line-up found a solution to its early reliability problems, with the last 5 races of the 8 that are currently under its name, Carlos Sainz has his main rival much closer: in the box next doorand his name is Charles Leclerc.
Except in the Monaco GP, where by its own decision the #55 modified the strategy to follow by the team, at least in his case, the Spanish Ferrari driver has not been able to see the checkered flag ahead of the Monegasque, a fact that, added to Sainz’s multiple withdrawals, means that 33 points separate both in the championship.
Now or never
After the debacle of a lethal double retirement in his options at the World Cup in Baku, Sainz returns to a circuit that he last stepped on with the help of McLaren in 2019, when he was the first on the grid to cross the finish line without scoring a single point in 11th position.
“It is great to return to Canada, to a circuit that is demanding, bumpy and full of curbs,” said the Madrid native. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for these new cars. I enjoyed the first day of free practice and we were able to make good progress during both sessions. Sometimes it was very difficult because of the wind, which was strong and gusty, but we managed to complete the entire program without any problems”.
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Tackling the 14 corners of the Gilles-Villeneuve with heavier and oversized single-seaters that then without going against the walls will be a challenge for the drivers, with the Pirelli as a pending task for many teams, including Ferrari.
«understand tires It will be very important on Sunday, we have collected good data with today’s planning, so I am looking forward to tomorrow’s classification”, concluded Sainz.
damage limitation
While Sainz had the hydraulics of his F1-75 dropped in Azerbaijan, Leclerc had a power unit fail that the Scuderia has been forced to scrap almost entirely.
“It is very good to come back to this circuit, it has a lot of character and it is always fun to drive on circuits where you have to go over the curbs so much,” commented the #16. That is why, after many digs, Leclerc will suffer a penalty of at least 10 positions in Montreal for using a 3rd ECU, waiting to see if, with a new turbo, it further delays its starting position.
“We did a good job improving our set-up from FP1 to FP2; our main objective will be to prepare the race in the best possible way
“In general it has been a positive first day, we did a good job improving our set-up from Free Practice 1 to Free Practice 2. The evolution of the track is usually quite big on this track, and it was like that today too. The wind was blowing quite strongbut it didn’t affect me too much. Our main goal will be to prepare for the race in the best possible way,” Leclerc concluded.