Charles Leclerc felt “pretty happy” with the performance of Scuderia Ferrari during the Grand Prix of Holland Weekend in which the Monaco racing driver started and ended in fifth place on Sunday.
Leclerc said he didn’t want to take too many risks at the start, but as the race calmed down he found that his SF21’s pace was close to that of Pierre Gasly fourth, but the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda The driver just had that little extra to keep him from moving up a seat.
He was also surprised by the performance and longevity of the medium-sized mix of Pirelli Tires, but he still felt his strategy of using the soft and then the hard compounds was the way to go.
“I’m pretty happy with our overall performance this weekend,” said Leclerc. “To get into the points with both cars today is a good result.
“The start was good, but then I didn’t want to risk too much. I think everyone’s biggest surprise was how long the media lasted. Still, I think the soft-hard combination was the right choice for us. We were very close to the car in front, but it just wasn’t enough today.
“The atmosphere was amazing and it was really great to see so many people cheering in the stands. I can’t wait to see the same thing, only in red, in Monza next week. “
“I couldn’t keep up with the pace I had on Friday” – Carlos Sainz Jr.
Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh after being overtaken by his compatriot late in the day Fernando Alonso, and the Spaniard was less satisfied with the result.
Sainz had a bad crash in the final practice session on Saturday morning and his mechanics were working frantically to get him out for qualifying and he rewarded them with sixth on the grid.
However, he didn’t feel the same way on the long runs as on Friday, so he had to fend off challenges from behind instead of fighting forward. His points, combined with those of Leclerc, resulted in Ferrari finishing third in the constructors’ championship ahead of the McLaren F1 team.
“Overall, it was a positive weekend for the team, even if it wasn’t the best for me despite yesterday’s good recovery,” said Sainz. “My race today was far from what I was looking for.
“I couldn’t keep up with the pace of Friday because I’ve completely lost the good feeling I had with the car up until then. I just couldn’t find the right balance, slipped too much, and had a lot of degradation. I planned to attack and fight for positions, but in the end I had to defend. We have to analyze what happened today and move on.
“On the positive side, we got some good points for the team, which puts us in a stronger position with the designers.”
This weekend, Sainz is running at Monza National Circuit for the first time as a Ferrari driver and he is sure that it will be an unforgettable weekend before the legendary Tifosi.
“Now I’m looking forward to Monza,” said Sainz. “It will be my first Italian GP as a Ferrari driver and I am sure it will be a weekend that I will remember forever.”
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh at Zandvoort – Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
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