Not a perfect start for Ferrari: 'Trickier than we expected'

Not all Formula 1 teams had a trouble-free start to the first race weekend of the year. Friday in Bahrain was harder than expected for Carlos Sainz.

Sainz ended Friday in Bahrain with 20th and 14th places in FP1 and FP2 respectively. "A trickier Friday than we initially expected," Sainz said in a Ferrari press release. He notes that the balance was not the same as during the winter test the week before and that it was difficult to get it back to what we wanted.

"We were changing the car through the sessions to try and correct its main limitations," continued the 28-year-old Spaniard. At the same time, it is still early in the weekend and the Ferrari driver is confident that his team will be able to improve ahead of qualifying.

To succeed in that, there will be hard work at the Scuderia on Friday night to study Friday's data. "I’m confident we can analyse everything overnight and take a step forward tomorrow," concludes an optimistic Sainz.