Ferrari on the assault: "But we could have scored more points" – Carlos Sainz's push for Abu Dhabi

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After the Losail weekend in Qatar, Ferrari immediately sets its sights on Abu Dhabi for the final assault on McLaren in the constructors' championship. Following the race, Carlos Sainz spoke to journalists. The Spaniard analyzed the Qatari race without much enthusiasm, dampened by an unfortunate puncture in the second half of the GP.

Puncture and mandatory stop: the second half of the race in Qatar delivers an unpleasant surprise to both Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton. In the final stages of the race, a mirror detached from a car and lay on the track near Turn 1's braking zone. During lapping, Valtteri Bottas hit the debris, shattering it into smaller fragments. These fragments, combined with tire degradation, likely became the culprits that ruined Carlos Sainz's race, an incident that perhaps the FIA could have avoided.

"Could the FIA have managed the debris situation better? I don't know; obviously, I'm not very happy with what happened," Carlos Sainz began, speaking to Sky Italia. "I had to drive almost an entire lap with a punctured tire before returning to the pits. I lost so many seconds, and then the stop was very slow. When I left the pit lane, they immediately deployed the Safety Car: others were able to benefit from it, but I couldn't. That's how it went; it happens…"

Regret in Qatar, determination for Abu Dhabi: Ferrari, listen to Carlos Sainz
Before the race, most considered Qatar a rather tricky track for the SF-24. That indeed proved true, with McLaren outperforming Ferrari on track but failing to extend their lead in the championship. Carlos Sainz harbors particular regret, wishing to have closed the gap further to the Papaya rivals: "We were in a good position to score a lot of points for the team, but everything happened to us. Thank God nothing happened to Charles today, and he was able to maximize the result."

"This result allows us to go to Abu Dhabi and fight. Obviously, we need a very specific kind of weekend: we have to score a lot of points, and McLaren very few. But we will try until the end; we are in a good position to give it a shot," the Spaniard concluded, confident about battling for the 2024 Formula 1 title until the championship's final corner of the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island.

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