Carlos Sainz: I will think about it as long as necessary

In Austria, Carlos Sainz stood on the podium for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix. In an interview after the finish, the Ferrari driver admitted that the team has not yet solved the problems with the car and commented on the situation with his contract for 2025.

Q: Carlos, do you think Ferrari did their best this weekend?
Carlos Sainz: I think so. I don’t think we could have done better this weekend. I think we did well on Saturday in qualifying and the sprint, and in the race our aim was to get ahead of Mercedes. I was able to pass one of their riders while the other ended up in front.

At the beginning I was behind both Mercedes drivers, but I was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton, and then I tried to stay behind George Russell. But just like in the sprint, they had a pace advantage of five hundredths to a tenth. In the end he had a three, four, five second advantage the whole race. I thought George and I were fighting for the podium, but in the end he won.

We did everything we could, but the team knows we had problems in the last few races, and yes, at the moment Mercedes is a bit faster than us.

Q: You said Ferrari had problems in several previous races. Does a podium finish in Austria prove that the team was able to solve them?
Carlos Sainz: I think this just shows that the last two weekends have been tough. Always one of the Ferrari cars ended up behind one of the Mercedes cars. So even in Canada we can say this happened three weekends in a row.

In Austria, Red Bull and McLaren were playing in their own league, there was a small gap behind them, and then George and I were fighting for third or fourth place. This was not the case at the beginning of this year, but it shows that our team has to work hard.

We need to understand what happened in the last few races and once we understand this, and I hope it will happen at Silverstone, we will be able to take a step forward and improve the results.

Q: In the individual competition you are only 15 points behind Charles Leclerc. Is one of your main goals to be ahead of him at the end of the season?
Carlos Sainz: You pay too much attention to the situation in the individual competition. I missed the race in Jeddah, so I am competing with the guys with one stage less. In this situation I am more focused on fighting for podiums and victories, and I try not to think about the situation in the championship, because it is not so easy to fight with one race less against the best riders in the world.

In ten races I was on the podium five times and won one. Good stats. I’m riding well this year and I’m happy to have the chance to fight for the podium. This possibility may not exist next year. I do my best and enjoy moments like the podium in Austria.

Q: Obviously you have several options to continue your career next season, but there are rumors that some teams are already losing patience. Do you feel pressure because of this? Or do you think you still have time?
Carlos Sainz: Because I was on the podium on Sunday, I don’t feel any pressure and I just want to enjoy the moment. When you wear Ferrari overalls and are on the podium you can take it for granted, but I try to enjoy those moments because who knows what the future will bring.

Maybe some teams are nervous or putting pressure on me, but now it’s time to enjoy the podium.

I will be honest and open with the teams. I have a very important decision to make, so I’ll take as much time as necessary to think about it. And if some teams aren’t willing to wait, there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to make a decision about the future and I will try to be as honest with everyone as possible and give myself as much time as necessary to think about it.