Carlos Sainz finished second in the Canadian Grand Prix. In the closing laps, the Ferrari driver actively pressured Max Verstappen, but was unable to take the lead. At a press conference after the finish, Sainz explained why he was unable to overtake the Red Bull Racing driver.
Q: Carlos, you were very close to winning the race. Can you tell me about the last laps?
Carlos Sainz: Max and I had a difficult and intense fight. The whole race he was by a small margin from me, but in the last part my tires were five or six laps fresher, but to overtake on this track the advantage has to be more than two or three tenths that I had because of the ties.
I did my best, taking risks everywhere, attacking the curbs, standing close to the wall and almost flying out several times. A few times I got very close to Max, but still not enough to launch an attack. But I can assure you that I attacked with all my might.
Q: If you change to Medium tires at the last pit stop, would that help in the battle against Mac?
Carlos Sainz: I have thought about it. The safety car stayed on track a little longer and after the race restarted there were still about 16 laps to go. Maybe it was worth putting on Soft and trying to catch up to Max while his Hard was warming up. Talking is now easy.
However, for the rest of the laps it was clear that hard tires were definitely the best option, especially as my tires were fresh. That’s a shame because without the safety car Max wouldn’t have been able to stop me so easily.
Q: How do you rate the car’s pace in the race? Was it only thanks to DRS that you were able to follow Max closely?
Carlos Sainz: I don’t think it would be possible without DRS, because DRS still has a lot to do with it, especially on a track where there are no alternative lines. In the chicanes it was difficult to avoid understeer and overheating of the tires, but I managed and I did 16 laps in the DRS zone. Like I said, I did my best.
Compared to Red Bull, our car was faster throughout the race. For the first time in the season I can say that I was fastest on track – this gives me confidence and hope for the next races. However, the advantage of two or three tenths was not enough to overtake Red Bull. It takes five or six tenths of a lap advantage to have a realistic chance of passing Max.
Q: You said you felt like you were fastest in the race. Do you think you can perform at the same level as Max and Charles Leclerc now?
Carlos Sainz: I hope so. A few stages ago I said that I want to add gradually from race to race, without thinking about the situation in the championship. I want to focus on performance on a specific track and see if I can get the most out of it, if I’m comfortable in the car.
I did it this weekend. From the first practice I was very fast and then confirmed the pace in qualifying and in the race. In the race I attacked at the limit without fear of losing control of the car, as was the case in Barcelona for example.
We have been able to make progress by adapting the car to my needs. Apparently the approach works, but final confirmation will require more time to speak on other tracks and evaluate the car’s behavior in other types of corners.
Source: F1 News
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