Carlos Sainz: I was turned over by a gust of wind

The Barcelona race was not a success for Ferrari – Charles Leclerc confidently took the lead but pulled out due to a loss of power from the power plant. His team-mate Carlos Sainz fought for the podium, but the Spaniard’s car was flipped over by a gust of wind, he rolled backwards and finished fourth.

After round six of the season, Ferrari dropped to second in the Constructors’ Championship, 26 points behind Red Bull Racing. Charles Leclerc is six points behind Max Verstappen in the individual classification.

Carlos Sainz (4th): “A very difficult Sunday – not the result we hoped for. In the fourth corner I was turned around by a gust of wind. Unfortunately, the car sustained damage as a result. In the future I had problems – losing some downforce I let the tires slide in almost all corners. I tried my best to regain the positions and was able to move up to fourth place. Not too bad considering the conditions, but the result is far from ideal.

It’s a shame Charles retired as race leader. We will continue to work as a team and return to Monaco stronger. What delighted me most today was the amazing spectators in the stands supporting us. I want to thank every fan for their support.”

Charles Leclerc (retired): “In terms of reliability, the team has done a fantastic job this year. Of course, the retirement disrupts, because we were ahead all weekend. I know this happens sometimes, so it’s important to look for positive moments in such a situation as well.

We had a good pace in qualifying and in the race, and the car drove well. We have made progress with tires, although in recent races rubber has been our weak point. It’s a shame I missed the opportunity to earn a lot of points, but the season is long and we know we have potential.

Ahead of my home race in Monaco. I’m looking forward to it and hope I can perform well!”

Mattia Binotto, team leader: “It is clear that we are not satisfied with today’s result. We are disappointed with the engine problem that has robbed Charles of a well-deserved victory, especially as the Maranello team has done an excellent job developing the engine for this season.

Carlos finished fourth and came back from a difficult situation. He probably doesn’t feel the F1-75 the way he would like yet, but our job is to make him feel comfortable in the car. Carlos is persistent and never gives up, so I’m sure he will soon feel comfortable in the car.

Even after such a result, we still have to look for positive results. I said it is necessary to spend six races to assess the joining of forces, and now we can say that we have built a good car and have done a great job developing it. The track in Barcelona is difficult in many ways and usually scares us, but F1-75 was the fastest yesterday and today. Charles was comfortably in the lead and showed a very good race pace.

Now we need to identify the problem that stopped it. Unfortunately, this can happen to us and our adversaries. However, there are still many races ahead of us and we will be able to compete in the upcoming Grands Prix, starting with Monaco, Charles’ home race. Fortunately, we just have to wait until next Sunday.”