Carlos Sainz reveals Ferrari's fuel 'advantage' courtesy of their sponsor during 2022 F1 season 

Carlos Sainz has claimed that Ferrari's partnership with fuel-supplier Shell gave them an advantage in the 2022 F1 season. The famous fuel suppliers have prior experience with 10% ethanol fuel, which was made mandatory in the sport in 2022.

Ferrari have a long history with Shell, having been partners since 1929.

F1 mandated that all cars run on a fuel that has 10% ethanol starting in 2022, giving the Maranello-based team a head-start due to their partnership with Shell. As per Carlos Sainz, Shell have spent a few years refining their fuel technology with the 10% bioethanol fuel.

Carlos Sainz reflected on this advantage for Ferrari, saying:

"This season it was mandatory to race with 10% bio ethanol fuel. Looking at this season, I think it gave us an advantage that Shell is so strong with creating the fuel with 10% bio ethanol. They have experience with it and have worked hard in recent years to create the highest quality version. Because they have created an excellent product, as a driver the difference from last year was not noticeable. This is because they have worked hard in the last few years on the project with 10% bio ethanol and they will do the same with creating the 100% sustainable fuel in 2026."

Ferrari needs to be better at executing races, claims Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz feels there aren't any drastic changes that need to be made by Ferrari to provide better competition at the front of the grid. However, the Spaniard believes the team needs to do a better job at executing their strategy in 2023.

The 2022 F1 season started with Ferrari as the frontrunner. The team was able to win two of the first three races via Sainz's teammate, Charles Leclerc. At that point, the Scuderia seemed to be the runaway favorites for the title.

However, their title dreams soon fell away after a string of reliability and strategic issues later on in the season. These issues, coupled with brilliant performances by Max Verstappen, gave Red Bull a clear lead at the midway point in 2022.

When asked by Sky Sports about what he felt were the areas where Ferrari needed to improve, Carlos Sainz stressed the importance of better execution. He said:

"I think it's very simple. I think we need to be better at executing races, whether that's the start like, for example, me. This year, we've had a problem with an inherent problem in the car that doesn't allow us to start well. I had a problem in the clutch all weekend [in Abu Dhabi] and it cost me a position to Lewis [Hamilton], which meant then I had five seconds, six seconds of race time that I lost in that crazy fight I had with him."

Ferrari have shown remarkable progress compared to where they were in the last two seasons. The team, however, needs to take another step to put together a sustained challenge for the title in 2023 and beyond. Now, with Mattia Binotto having resigned as team principal, the Tifosi are hoping for greater success.