Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has opened up on his targets for the next Formula 1 season, pointing out that he wants to be involved in the battle for the world title right “from the start” after the difficult opening rounds of the current campaign, which quickly ended his title hopes in 2022.
Red Bull and Ferrari proved to be by far the best teams ever since the pre-season testing sessions, but out of the four drivers challenging for the Championship, it was the Spaniard who was first to lose ground and realistically fall out of the running. Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz is in fifth place, even behind the Mercedes of George Russell. Despite winning the British Grand Prix, the Spanish driver has not finished higher than P3 since the Silverstone event.
As things stand, Carlos Sainz would finish more than 50 points behind his Maranello team-mate Charles Leclerc, after in 2022 he was able to match Charles and even finished ahead of him last year, which was the Spaniard’s first season with the Italian side. Now he is focused on a strong start next championship, in order to make sure that he does not find himself in the same situation in the title duel with Red Bull and Charles Leclerc.
In a recent interview for Spanish newspaper AS, Carlos Sainz confirmed that his main target for the 2023 Formula 1 season was to challenge for the title from the first race of the campaign at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“My goal is to be World Champion one day,” the 28-year-old said. “I hope if there is a good car again next year, I can be in the fight from the start. Not to drop off in that first half because I know once I’m in the fight, I’m capable of staying in the fight. That will be the goal. We are working at Ferrari to get the car back and to improve as a team so that if the opportunity comes up again next year, we don’t let it slip away.” – the Ferrari driver conceded.
At the age of 28, Carlos Sainz is now becoming one of the drivers with more experience but he given his colleagues on the grid he does not have very far to look when it came to inspiration for longevity in Formula 1:
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“I must be at a point close to that maturity, but then you see drivers like Fernando [Alonso] who reinvent themselves year by year and I think maturity as such never ends. Every year you spend in F1 you get better, you learn more. Yes, the eight years of experience helps, but I will keep learning new things.” – the Ferrari driver explained.
Despite the fact that it did not end with a title, the 2022 Formula One season has been an important campaign for the Spaniard, who achieved his first F1 victory. Carlos Sainz started the British Grand Prix from first place and won at the Silverstone Circuit. Unfortunately, after more than three months, the Ferrari driver admitted that the moment seems far away now:
“Every time I think about it I smile, but in F1 only the last race counts in terms of reputation and the next one in terms of occupation. I’m proud to be the second Spaniard to win a Formula 1 race, besides doing it for Ferrari and at Silverstone, and in the way it was done. But I just wish it could happen again as soon as possible.” – the Spaniard added.
Carlos Sainz also confirmed he did not even have the time to consider his achievements in 2022, being so caught up in the “hectic F1 season”.
“Once you’ve achieved it, and while you are involved in the hectic F1 season with all the races, it becomes normal. It’s funny because maybe in the winter I’ll have more time to think about it and I’ll feel differently. But right now…because every race is a chance to win, I’m not worried about what happened at Silverstone. Yes, when I’m older and not as competitive as I am now, and I’m more in ‘thinking mode’, I’m sure I’ll look at it that way.” – the Ferrari driver concluded.
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