Sainz: The balance of power can change during the race

In Las Vegas, Carlos Sainz qualified second and hopes to fight for victory in the race…

Question: Carlos, excellent result. How good was the round? How good is your car here?
Carlos Sainz: And the car is fine, and the lap was good. The lap before I rode in 1:32.7 and then I lost three tenths in one go, trying to get close to the limit.

At one point I thought I could take pole – the track was gradually improving and I was one of the last, but I was told that George had provisional pole and I knew the Mercedes cars were very fast this weekend.

They have been one step ahead of us all weekend, especially during the fast laps. But tomorrow everything will change. Everyone will be driving with more fuel, the tires will be granulated and the conditions will be completely different, so the balance of power may change.

Question: Last year there was a serious incident in the first corner at the start. Are you looking forward to something like that tomorrow?
Carlos Sainz: I believe that races are not won or lost on the first turn. However, the grip there is now better than a year ago. Let’s see.

In Vegas we may wake up tomorrow and see that the track is just as dirty as it was in the third practice. It is impossible to predict the grip level in the first corner. Overtaking is difficult on this circuit, so if there is an opportunity in the first corner, many will want to take it.

Q: Which teams do you think will fight for the win tomorrow?
Carlos Sainz: I think us and Mercedes. They won halfway through the season, but more than once they were quick when they managed to put everything together. I’ll probably fight Russell. If Pierre can maintain a good pace, he will participate. Max’s car has a higher downforce here, his tires may wear less and then he will also join the fight. Who knows…

The great thing about current Formula 1 is that drivers from four teams can take pole at the same time and win the race if they do everything right.

Question: Tomorrow you and Charles will start for the McLaren drivers, hoping to close the gap in the Constructors’ Championship? You said that the Qatar stage will be difficult for you, so you will try to make the best of tomorrow?
Carlos Sainz: Yes, I’m a little worried about Qatar. Today we lost three tenths to Mercedes in the first sector, and these are the corners that make up the circuit in Qatar. It is important for us to earn points tomorrow because we could lose them in Qatar.

Question: Aren’t you and Charles going to fight each other to earn maximum points for Ferrari?
Carlos Sainz: We are both interested in the team winning the Constructors’ Championship, we are both committed to this victory and we are working together more than ever before. We do not fight with each other for the title, but perform together. We will take action tomorrow based on this.

Question: Tomorrow we have the hottest day of the weekend. How does this affect the car’s performance during the race?
Carlos Sainz: I think this will affect the granulation of the tires after about 15-20 laps, and not particularly affect the race.

Q: Tell us about your daily routine and diet. What are the differences between the day and night phases…
Carlos Sainz: Here I go to bed at 4 o’clock, wake up at 12 o’clock. I try to wake up as late as possible, otherwise the day becomes long and you get really tired by nightfall.

Every day I spend here, I shift my sleep schedule by an hour. I fall asleep an hour later and wake up an hour later. Tomorrow I’ll try to wake up at one o’clock.

In addition, you move breakfast, lunch and dinner according to this schedule. So I have breakfast at 2pm, lunch at 7pm and dinner an hour or two later. This is how my day is structured. I want all weekends to be schedule independent, so I sleep the same number of hours and then stay around the same time until the race.