Carlos Sainz is in 5th place in the championship, 15 points ahead of Charles Leclerc, his Ferrari teammate, and 24 points behind Fernando Alonso, who is one line higher. During a meeting with the Spanish press today, organized by his sponsors Estrella Galicia, the Scuderia driver shared his expectations for the final phase of the season.
In particular, Sainz was asked whether he could complete the remaining races so successfully that he would finish the championship in third place.
“To do this it is necessary that both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando score no points at all in several races. “And I can’t imagine the world champions performing so poorly, given their experience,” said Carlos, realistically assessing his chances. – Our main goal is to achieve second place in the Constructors’ Championship, especially as we see that we have taken quite a lot of points from Mercedes in recent races. This will be a great motivation for the team for next season.
If we talk about me personally, I will try to continue the series of successful performances, which requires me to get the most out of the car, and if the opportunity arises, then compete for podiums or victories. And you have to be prepared for this. But since we know the capabilities of our machine, it remains to be seen whether it will appear or not.
When asked which of the remaining circuits is likely to repeat what he achieved in Monza and especially in Singapore, Sainz replied: “We don’t know much about Las Vegas, and we still need to understand what kind of circuit it is. On the one hand it is urban in nature, on the other hand there are many long straight stretches, such as in Monza. I hope we get the chance to succeed there.
If we talk about other circuits, based on last year’s experiences, we can assume that we will have difficulties in Mexico City, but maybe things will go a little better in Austin. But I can already say, for example, that it will not be easy for us in Qatar.
Overall, the reality is that in my opinion this year everything depends on Red Bull. Without them Ferrari would have had a very decent season, because this year several teams are performing at about the same level – us, Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren – and there is an interesting battle between all of us. ”
Carlos also emphasized that the SF-23 is more suitable for his driving style, and not for Charles Leclerc, although last year it was the other way around: “As your career progresses, it always happens that with some cars you quickly find a common ground. language and immediately show good speed, and you have to somehow adapt to others. Therefore, it is easy for a racer to find an explanation for his failures.
Last year I didn’t feel comfortable, but now I don’t feel comfortable either. I don’t really like this car, I don’t enjoy driving it to the limit, but thanks to last year’s experience I have learned to control my driving style and find approaches that help me go faster. I will pay maximum attention to this in 2023.
Cars of this generation are difficult to drive, so in many races the partners are separated by two, three tenths or even half a second. It is very difficult to understand the characteristics of these machines and make them perform within the optimal range. But this still doesn’t happen in our team; Charles and I always show roughly the same results, regardless of which of us is leading and who is lagging behind. And this is a very important moment for the team. That’s why we push each other so hard.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
