Data shows that I can be as fast as Leclerc in F1 qualifying

Like other riders who switched teams in 2021, Sainz struggles to find his teammate adapting to a new environment, with progress not being helped by the lack of pre-season testing.

At Imola, Sainz was only eleventh in the second quarter, while Leclerc was fourth. However, the Spaniard says his best individual sectors were as good as Leclerc’s and it was all about perfecting the entire lap.

“I know he’s a qualifying expert,” said Sainz.

“And especially in the Ferrari he seems really at home and knows exactly what to expect from the car when it comes to high-grip conditions in the second and third quarters. He’s an expert, he’s a very, very good driver.

“But at the same time, when I’ve seen something in the first two races, I’m not really slower than him in any corner.

“So I know I can be up there if I put the rounds together.

“Now the point is to focus on how to put these laps together, what he’s doing, and what I can do to put these laps together better.

“Or maybe I just need a little more time and experience. Let’s see, but I’m encouraged by what I see on the data and it’s more of a matter of time for me. “

Sainz said that knowing where to park the car on the curbs was a particular challenge for Imola.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Maybe it was driving on the curb how the car reacts to the curb, depending on the angle at which I hit the curb,” he said.

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“And I got caught in all of this harassment a few times, maybe catching the curb at a different angle and getting out of position.

“There are very long straights after those curbs, so I missed a tent or two in the episode.

“Basically, what I’m talking about is just knowing how the car will react to which angle and being very precise at the angle of attack to know that I won’t lose the tenth and tenth on the next straight the half that I just made up.

“I’m pretty sure where that lap time is and how it can be extracted.”