Spanish driver Carlos Sainz was interviewed on the eve of the United States Grand Prix, sharing his thoughts on the unfortunate weekend in Qatar and revealing his expectations for the forthcoming race in the United States.
Carlos Sainz is coming off a Did Not Start (DNS) at the Qatar Grand Prix, so he is eager to make amends in Austin.
Comment on Qatar and Expectations for this Weekend
Carlos Sainz talked about his approach to the race weekend and also commented on the Ferrari gala event that took place in New York this week: “I tried to recover from Qatar, not so much physically because I didn’t race, but mentally since I couldn’t take part in the race. In hindsight, if there was a race to skip, Qatar was the right one. Then we spent a couple of days in New York for the event, and I had the opportunity to visit the city for the first time; I had never seen it before. But now I’m in Austin, ready to focus on getting back on track, and I hope to get back on the podium.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
When asked about how he experienced the Qatar Grand Prix as a spectator and his thoughts on the Texas circuit, Carlos Sainz responded: “I was an interested spectator, watching the strategy and always thinking about what I would have done in a particular situation. Then I realized it wasn’t worth it because your frustration only increases if you keep thinking about what might have happened. It was frustrating to watch others on the sidelines, but that’s how it went. We’ll also have some heat here in Austin, but I love this track, I also like the atmosphere on Saturdays and Sundays with the fans and how enjoyable it is to drive here, so I hope to soon forget Qatar.” – he added.
Reliability Concerns?
Regarding any concerns about reliability, the Ferrari driver stated: “We have changed some parts of the car, of course, to try to avoid the issue that hit us in Qatar. We’re also looking for long-term solutions, not just short-term, because it’s definitely not something that makes us happy, and we’ve had such issues in the past. So, it’s a bit of a ‘headache’ that the fuel tank gives us, every now and then. But we tried to solve it for this weekend, and we hope that at least in the short term, it won’t be a problem.”
Is McLaren’s Speed a Worry?
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On McLaren’s speed in recent races and the possibility of being in a battle with the Woking-based team in the Constructors’ Championship, Carlos Sainz stated: “If we don’t have any more retirements or missed starts, we should be able to keep them behind. That doesn’t mean they won’t beat us because I believe they will, in most of the races from here to the end of the season, if things progress linearly. Now they have a very fast car; they seem to be the only ones who can sometimes keep up with Red Bull, perhaps except in Singapore, where we were a bit stronger. I was talking to Lando [Norris], we were discussing who would be ahead between us for this weekend between qualifying and races, but we don’t know. We’ll see who’s the fastest.” – the Ferrari man continued, ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
The journalist playfully teased him…
After a brief golf-related digression, during which the Spanish driver said they didn’t play “competitively” with McLaren’s driver during the break, the journalist concluded with: “Thank you, Carlos, best of luck for this weekend, and first of all, let’s hope you start.”
Carlos Sainz is thus raring to go for the upcoming American weekend, hoping to regain the form he has shown in the latter part of the 2023 Formula One season.
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