“No”: Carlos Sainz does not feel shortened DRS zone will benefit Ferrari against Red Bull despite finishing P3 in Qualifying

Carlos Sainz set the third-fastest pace at the 2023 Miami Grand Prix qualifying and will be starting the race from the second row on Sunday (May 7) behind pole-sitter Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.

The session came to an abrupt end when Charles Leclerc brought out the red flag after going into the barriers during the last few minutes of Q3. The session was not resumed and so no drivers had the opportunity to improve their lap times thereon.

In a post-qualifying media interaction, the Spaniard described the session as "tricky," emphasizing the gusty conditions on track. He said:

"It was a very tricky quali for all. I think it's very difficult to find the right feeling with the tyres around this tarmac, and it was a fight the whole way through and very easy to make mistakes."

"It was getting windier and windier...but in general it was a decent outcome for tomorrow, but today I think we could have been even better."

When asked if he thinks that the shortened DRS zone will benefit Ferrari in their fight against Red Bull, he said:

"No. I think that the Red Bull is very quick but it is going to be a good fight with Fernando, with Mercedes, the other Aston. I think it's going to be an exciting race."

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Carlos Sainz says Ferrari have an "aggressive plan" to turn around their performance this season

Despite starting on the top, Ferrari's season got progressively worse in 2022. The Scuderia has also certainly struggled to get back to winning this year but Carlos Sainz claims that the team is using an "aggressive" approach to ensure that the car improves over the course of the year.

Speaking to MARCA about his struggles over the past few months, Carlos Sainz said:

"To be honest, it is a complicated car and it has given me a few headaches in these first races, hence the changes we have been making to the set-ups."

When asked whether it is the manageability or the reliability that seems to be the key issue with the Ferrari this year, he said:

"More manageability than reliability. It is true that there was a problem (engine) in the first race, but it is more the former. We have found things in the car that we don't quite like and we are trying to compensate for them."

"A very aggressive plan has been applied in Maranello to turn the year around. Nobody is very happy at the factory after the start of the year, but there is an attitude and a desire to improve that I haven't seen for a long time."

He continued:

"And I like to see it, I like to see a factory so invested in the project, in such an aggressive way and I want to encourage them because I know that they are doing a very intense job to improve the performance of the car as soon as possible."

Carlos Sainz currently stands fifth in the drivers' standings with 34 points.