Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has set his sights on returning to the “consistent Carlos of 2021” right from the start of the 2023 Formula 1 championship follwing a series of retirements during the 2022 campaign, due to power unit reliability issues and a few mistakes of his own.
Still, Carlos Sainz secured his first Formula 1 victory this year thanks to his triumph with the Maranello team at the Silverstone Circuit in the British Grand Prix, as well as taking pole positions for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps and the United States Grand Prix in Austin, which makes 2022 the most successful championship in Formula 1 until now.
However, at the same time Carlos Sainz ended the season more than 60 points behind his Maranello teammate Charles Leclerc, mainly due to the six retirements – including at the Circuit of the Americas due to a collision caused by George Russell on lap 1 and at the Red Bull Ring, where he was passing Max Verstappen for second place when his power unit failed and meant he lost another podium finish.
Carlos Sainz believes that there were “many good things” which he would “always remember” from the season that has just ended, but at the same time he strongly wants to try and level out some of the “very hard moments” and make sure he will have a more consistent championship in 2023.
“At the beginning, I had two consecutive retirements [Melbourne and Imola] and at the end I was driving well, but I had the accident in Austin when I started from pole position, and also the car was no longer there to win. I have had many highs and lows. For next year, hopefully there will be fewer low points and many high peaks to be able to have a more linear season.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
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Carlos Sainz is aware of what is needed to win more races and constantly fight for podium finishes. Now he wants to sustain a high level of performance during the entire year, just like was the case in his first year with Ferrari, when unfortunately the car was less competitive:
“My goal is to be consistent,” he said. “To win races, I already know what it is, but if you want to fight for the world championship, you have to be consistent. If you’re at the front, the worst result is fifth or sixth, but with six or seven retirements that we’ve had, a series of points will go away that make you miss the world championship – although it’s also true that Verstappen and Red Bull have been stronger. I believe that by learning those couple of lessons and going back to being the consistent Carlos of 2021, who I think will finish all the races, you can fight for the world championship.” – the Spaniard continued.
Carlos Sainz finished the season in P5 in the Drivers standings but is confident the chance of fighting for a title felt “near and far at the same time” after taking plenty from his 2022 championship.
“Near because I am in one of the best teams in the world, but in F1 there is a high level, both in terms of teams and drivers,” he said. I am going to put the effort and the desire year after year, but then the circumstances have to arise to have one of the best cars and take advantage of it. This year is the first that I have had a really competitive car and it has made me learn a lot. I am sure that I will take advantage of this to improve in the future.” – Carlos Sainz concluded.
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