Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), fifth in the World Championship, 51 points behind the leader, his teammate Charles Leclerc, hopes that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will be a talisman for his ambitions: to achieve his first victory in F1, which has eluded him in the 145 Grand Prix contested so far. The man from Madrid believes that he lacks "very little" to finish understanding himself with the Ferrari F1-75.
These were his reflections in a meeting with the press at the Circuit, in Montmeló.
“I want it to be a good weekend, to give the fans a good time. It's what I've been preparing for and it's what I'm going to try to do. If not here, in Monaco, and if not, in Canada”.
“I am not going to say what we bring or the amount of time per lap that he would have to give us, they are team things. But you can bring three and if the others bring three, you stay where you are. You have to be patient, see how the improvements are going and how the rest of the races are evolving for the better. I think they go in the right direction of what I think I need in the car.
“There are things I'm trying to change in my driving style that I know don't work with this car, things I have to forget to do, automatisms I try to cancel out of my brain. It is not an easy process. It may be a good circuit to try it out. I know what I have to change to go fast.”
“Five minutes were enough for Madrid, I have 17 runs. There is still a lot left. Zeros will have them all. I have to focus on not having any more, I have had two, in a row also, of those that make you look like you are very low. Zeros will have them all. First you have to understand the car and when you understand it, win”.
“There are cars in which you instinctively know that you are perfect, and others that do not like your automatisms. It's something I've done well in the past, adapting to all the cars, and this car is proving to be more difficult than expected, I already noticed it in the tests here in February. It also happens to motorcycle riders. The funny thing is that going like this, with those things, I've been fighting for pole positions. I was ready in Miami, in Bahrain, in Jeddah… It's not much. It's quite a bit, but that bit hurts, because it's what doesn't allow you to be in the fight for victory or get that first pole. It annoys. But I hope to find him as soon as possible.”
“In Barcelona I have always gone fast, I have always achieved my best results, and I have always had an audience supporting me. I've always had a good time here. I want to think that it is a good motivation, that in the past it has gone very well for me and that I hope to take advantage of”.
“It will be very sensational. In Miami it was very positive. In front of the fans, have fun. That they see me at least on the podium and go for that first victory, which is what I've been dreaming of since I was little. It doesn't change anything, because it's Spain”.
“In the race I don't get tired, without holding the car. But days later you notice that your back has suffered, you notice less mobility, more shortened muscles. It is something that we have to think about if it is worth it, I am not talking about the cars being undrivable. But among pilots we know that this style of riding is not the healthiest. We will have to see what ideas and options are put on the table. The porpoising (rebound) makes you not know where the braking point is because you don't see it, you guess it more or less, and you don't know what the car is going to do. It happened in Imola and in Australia. It is difficult to calibrate. In Miami we took a step forward to reduce porpoising, until it disappears we are going to race to the limit because it gives you lap time”.
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