Sainz hoping to solve issues identified in Imola amid P5 result after ‘struggling all weekend’

Carlos Sainz was disappointed by his weekend at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the Spaniard keen to investigate the issues behind his struggles prior to the next event on the calendar in Monaco.

After originally qualifying in P5 on Saturday, Sainz was promoted into a P4 grid slot following Oscar Piastri’s three-place penalty from P2.

READ MORE: Verstappen holds off thrilling late charge from Norris to win Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

The Ferrari driver managed to keep the latter behind him during the early stages of the race, but Piastri gained a position after pitting before the Scuderia.

From there Sainz crossed the line in a lonely fifth place, eight seconds behind the McLaren of Piastri and just under 13 seconds clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Team mate Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, took third to claim Ferrari’s first podium in Imola since 2006.

“I think on my side I just struggled, to be honest, all weekend,” Sainz reflected post-race. “After qualifying we found a couple of issues with the car that probably [held] us back today a bit, and it was not a very strong weekend at home here in front of the Tifosi.

“Now we need to have a look at how we can solve them and make a step forward for Monaco. At the same time, when you look at Charles, I think if we would have started in front… The race pace is not bad at all, we just need to find something in qualifying.”

READ MORE: Leclerc pleased with Imola podium as he says ‘it’s looking good’ for Ferrari in remainder of season

Pushed on whether the problems found with his car were at all worrying – with Ferrari having brought significant updates to the event – Sainz explained: “No, they’re not from the upgrades. It’s just something that we need to investigate carefully, and I’m pretty sure we will find a solution.

“The only thing I would say is that when the field is so tight, [with] one- [or] two-tenths between the top five drivers, every single thing counts and I feel like this weekend we didn’t put together the best of packages, and now we need to focus on putting that in Monaco.”

Sainz will be hoping for better during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, which is set to take place from May 24-26.

FACTS AND STATS: First Ferrari podium in Imola since Schumacher in 2006 sends the Tifosi wild)

The race is one in which the 29-year-old has twice scored a podium result, with his last being in 2022 when he finished second.