Ferrari brought "back to reality" in French GP practice - Carlos Sainz

Sainz, Ferrari, France — Photo: © LAT Images

French Grand Prix

Ferrari brought "back to reality" in French GP practice - Sainz

Ferrari has taken two consecutive pole positions

Ewan Gale

Friday 18 June 2021 20:00

Carlos Sainz believes Ferrari has been brought "back to reality" following Friday practice for the French Grand Prix.

Sainz finished 16th and eighth quickest respectively in the two sessions at the Paul Ricard circuit, with team-mate Charles Leclerc fifth in the afternoon run after taking two pole positions in a row in Monaco and Azerbaijan.

After ruining a set of tyres by spinning and sliding across the highly abrasive run-off area that adorns the southern French circuit, Sainz only completed one soft tyre run on the day but was happy with the performance shown by the Scuderia.

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"In FP1 I didn't get the lap on the softs because I spun," said Sainz. "Getting a lap on the softs in FP2 allowed me to get a bit further ahead.

"The feeling with the car has actually been decent but the problem is we know that coming into this layout, this kind of track that we were not going to be as good as in Baku or Monaco.

"So we are back to reality but at the same time, pleased to see that the car balance is not too far away."

Sainz warns of wind problems

The famed Mistral winds played havoc with the drivers throughout Friday's running, with a host of spins scattered across the grid and circuit.

Sainz explained: "The problem is the wind is blowing in the worst possible direction for this circuit, which means you have a headwind on the straights so you are slow on the straights and then you have a tailwind in all the corners.

"It makes it challenging, it makes it slower also compared to 2019 when we had the opposite wind and it makes it quite inconsistent, easy to do mistakes but it is the same for everyone so hopefully we can adapt better."