Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz joined the Maranello team at the start of the current season and ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix is leading teammate Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship in sixth, scoring three podiums and 112.5 points so far this season.
Carlos Sainz started the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom in second place last weekend and took the led for the first ten laps, but in in the end had to settle for third place, a result which was achieved thanks to a great call to switch to intermediates in the final laps of the event, while other drivers, including Charles, remained on the slick tyres, despite the wet track.
Despite the fact that he managed to score more points and podium finishes than teammate Charles Leclerc so far this season, Carlos Sainz was also involved in several crashes at a handful of events, including qualifying at the Hungaroring and practice at both Zandvoort and Monza.
Carlos Sainz said the crashes showed that he still did not feel fully comfortable with Ferrari’s SF21 car, prompting him to focus his approach on building up confidence through the weekend in Russia.
“I guess you guys have seen from the outside that I’m not still 100% at home with the car. I don’t want to bring back the crashes, but I’ve never crashed in my career. I’m a driver that never puts it in the wall, but for some reason, there have been a few crashes that show that I still don’t fully 100% understand the car. [In Sochi] I made a conscious effort also to take it step by step, through free practice, into qualy, and be fast really when I need to be fast instead of being fast straight away in FP1. It has worked well, it has given me a good confidence, and I’ve been quick all weekend and I’ve been feeling at home.” – he explained.
Carlos Sainz always said he would be treating 2021 as a year to settle in at Ferrari before his second campaign at Maranello next season.
But he took heart from the fact Ferrari had grabbed the opportunities to score podiums when they had presented themselves, having finished second in Monaco and third in Hungary.
“We’ve used our opportunities to score those three podiums. We just maximise the opportunities that we get. It’s a good signal, a signal that the team, under pressure and in the right moments, we are performing well. We are getting the results whenever the chances are coming.” – the Spanish driver concluded.
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