Third Finish At The Bahrain GP, Carlos Sainz Jr. Believes Ferrari Will Be Competitive In F1 2024

JAKARTA - Racer Carlos Sainz assessed that his achievement in finishing third at the Bahrain Grand Prix was a solid start to the season for his team, Ferrari.

"Being able to keep up with Red Bull towards the end (of the race) is a nice surprise. It's still not enough, we haven't achieved the goal we wanted, but it's a good step forward compared to last year and a solid start to the season," Sainz said, quoted from the official Formula 1 website on Sunday.

Sainz finished behind Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with a margin of 25.110 seconds each from race leaders, and only 2.653 seconds from Perez.

Sainz's journey to complete the inaugural podium of the season in Sakhir was not very smooth. He started the race from fourth place, before finally trying to be more competitive and overtake other riders in front of him, including his team-mate, Charles Leclerc, in order to secure third place.

"I feel really good on the track. At first (the condition of the car felt) wasn't ideal, but since then I've only arranged my tires, and from there I can increase my speed, overtake two or three cars on the way to the podium," said Sainz.

After this, Sainz and other racers are preparing to face the second round of Formula 1 2024, namely the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix which will take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, on March 7-9.