Ferrari's Take on Their Unlucky Day at Australian GP: Leclerc Spins Out, Sainz Shows Resilience

Ferrari's Rollercoaster Ride: Leclerc's Misfortune and Sainz's Comeback, Plus a Controversial Collision and Penalty

Charles Leclerc's day was cut short due to an unfortunate spin caused by a tap from a competitor in the very first lap of the race. But his teammate Carlos Sainz managed to climb back up the field after an unlucky pit stop and displayed some impressive speed. However, a collision with Alonso during the second restart resulted in a five-second time penalty for Sainz, leaving Alonso to drop from fourth to twelfth place. Despite the setback, Sainz remained determined and showed great sportsmanship, acknowledging his mistake and accepting the penalty. It was a tough race for the Ferrari team, but they proved their resilience and determination to bounce back.

Charles Leclerc, DNF

"It was unfortunate to end the race this way today, but it was a racing incident and I don’t think that we could have done anything differently. Disappointing, but on to the next one where I hope things will run more smoothly again."

AUSTRALIAN GP RACE RESULTS

Carlos Sainz, 12th

"I had a good start and felt confident on the medium tyre but we were unlucky, pitting just before they brought out the first red flag and I dropped down to P11. From there I managed to pull off a good comeback with nice overtakes and solid pace, so for that I’m happy."

"It was a good race overall but the penalty ruined all the effort and I don’t agree with it. The frustration I feel right now will be difficult to digest, but I will try to think only of the positives from today and focus on the next race."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Today’s result, not scoring points, does not reflect the progress we have made as a team. We have taken a step forward in terms of pure performance and even more importantly, we had a decent and consistent race pace on the various tire compounds, including the Hard. Only yesterday’s qualifying did not match our potential."

"Our initial reaction is one of frustration, with Charles clearly unlucky to be involved in a racing incident at the start. It was a good call to bring Carlos in under the first Safety Car, but following the red flag, he had to start again from P11, from which he recovered very well. The penalty had a devastating effect on the final result for him but despite this, we go back to Maranello knowing that we are moving in the right direction and we now have three weeks to keep working on optimizing and updating the SF-23 for the coming races."