Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz admitted that “every driver knows” they are judged based on the performance and result of the most recent F1 event and could find themselves in a difficult situation at any moment due to a series of poor results caused by several circumstances.
This is what also happened to Daniel Ricciardo, who two years ago was among the candidates to join Scuderia Ferrari, before eventually the Maranello team decided to sign Carlos Sainz in order to replace Sebastian Vettel. The Australian driver moved to McLaren, but has had a difficult time in getting the most out of the British motor racing team’s cars.
A series of favourable events in last season’s Italian Grand Prix allowed Daniel Ricciardo to win at Monza, that victory was not enough to put an end to the Australian’s difficulties during his two seasons with McLaren.
As a result, the British team decided to terminate his contract for the 2023 Formula 1 season and Daniel Ricciardo did not reach an agreement with any other team, which means he will not be on the grid for the next championship. This is a risk that every driver faces, as confirmed by the Ferrari driver, even the good ones like Daniel Ricciardo.
“I think every driver knows, we are judged by what we have done and achieved in the last race,” Carlos Sainz confirmed in a recent wide-ranging interview for Motorsport – “At the most we evaluate the last season, and that is why Daniel is in such a difficult situation today. No sport has a long memory, and I don’t think we can change this approach. It’s the way the sport values us. If you win you are a hero, you have a great weekend and you become the best driver in the world, no one is better than you. But if you go through a difficult period the opposite happens, it must be taken into account. I know how good Daniel is, he found himself in a team he never felt comfortable with and this was enough to make his career take a different path. Last year he won a race, but no one remembers him now. This is why I believe that we must always be focused on the next race, because every time we go out on the track we are playing for a result but also for our reputation.” – the Spaniard explained.
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A few months ago, Carlos Sainz also put his name on the list of Formula 1 drivers that have secured at least a victory, making him the 112th driver to stand on the top step of the podium. The Spaniard started from pole position in the British Grand Prix and won at the Silverstone circuit, in what was his 150th Formula One Grand Prix. He made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, before moving to Renault and McLaren ahead of his time with Scuderia Ferrari. However, Carlos Sainz still remains one of the most underrated drivers by those in the paddock as well as Formula 1 fans.
When asked about that and why this is still happening, he said:
“It’s a good question but I can’t answer it. There is one thing that I am very sure of, and that is that every team-mate who has worked with me, every team principal, every engineer who has looked at my data, has rated me as a great talent, and if they say so is probably because they have seen what I am capable of. They know I’m very fast in the wet and this is normally something that shows a talented driver. Maybe there are those who would like me to be more spectacular, I don’t know, honestly I just need the judgment of the people who read my telemetry and who work with me. If that’s not the case in the rest of the paddock, well, maybe it’s a bit of my fault. I don’t like to say ‘this has been the ride of my life’, or anything like that, it’s not my way, and maybe this conveys another perception.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded.
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