Carlos Sainz: “I understand Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties: you have to change your driving style”. Carlos Sainz discusses the challenges of adapting to a new F1 team and car.

The former Ferrari driver, with his analytical approach, explains how many parameters of a ground-effect car affect whether it feels like it’s tailor-made for the driver, since every team achieves performance in very different ways: “It takes at least six months of testing to understand how to adapt your driving style.”

The ‘adaptation process’ is one of the main talking points at the start of this season. After the complete lineup stability of the 2024 championship (which started with the same driver pairings as the end of the previous year), the many team changes have led to the beginning of several new relationships between drivers and teams.

All eyes are, of course, on Hamilton’s new adventure in red, but the challenges Lewis is facing early this season are shared in other garages too. Carlos Sainz, now going through his own adaptation process at Williams, spoke about it today in Miami.

“Lewis’ problems? I’m not surprised at all, I expected it. In this sport, there are no secrets, and when you go up against a teammate who knows every detail of the team, at best you can match him—and that’s already a good result.”

Sainz is referring to Alexander Albon in his case, and to Leclerc in Hamilton’s…
“You can’t join a new team and immediately be faster than your teammate—it’s not possible. A good driver who’s been with a team for years is usually already getting the most out of the car. Whatever aspect we’re talking about, you always know a bit less than your teammate. It’ll take time, and the sooner you start adapting, the sooner you’ll see results. Lewis had a great weekend in China, but now he seems to be struggling a bit more. It’ll take time for both of us.”
Sainz throws up his hands when asked how long it takes to fully adapt…

“It’s a tough question because it depends on how well the car suits your driving, and also on your relationship with the engineers. Sometimes you click with a team quickly and naturally, other times it takes more time. I’ve always said that it takes at least six months to really get to know a car—more like a year if you want to test everything possible. That doesn’t mean you can’t perform at your best during the season—you can reach 99%, and sometimes that 99% is already very good. But if we’re talking about 100%, I still believe it takes a full season, and I’m not saying this as an excuse.”

There’s also a belief in the paddock that adapting to the current ground-effect cars is harder. Carlos Sainz agrees…

“These cars have to be driven in a very specific way to be fast. With the 2021 cars, you could be quick with two or three different driving styles. But the more I drive this generation of cars, the more I study the data, and the more I realize you need to focus on one precise driving style. If you don’t drive in that specific way, you’ll never be fast.”

According to Carlos, the adaptation process also includes managing the power unit. Switching from Mercedes to Ferrari, or vice versa, is not a minor factor when chasing that last tenth of a second…
“I agree, it’s one of fifteen things you have to learn. Some teams prefer to use engine braking to help turn the car, others rely more on the differential, others on aero or mechanical setup, others on pitch balance, and so on. You can’t imagine how many variables affect lap time.”

“I’m trying to understand the strong engine braking Williams uses, I’m running tests to see if it’s better to reduce it or not. I’m trying different differential maps, trying different mechanical settings, I’m testing everything every weekend just to see what the car likes and what it doesn’t, and whether those things suit my style. It’s a process I enjoy. Most of the time you get it wrong, but you accept it and move on, hoping to find that ‘click’ where everything makes sense. That’s always a great moment—it’s very rewarding.”