F1, Ferrari: Carlos Sainz is living a dream
Carlos Sainz recounts his experience at Ferrari
Carlos Sainz, a Spanish driver in his second season with Ferrari, indulged in an interview with ‘Motorsport.com,’ in which he touched on various aspects of these two years with the Maranello-based team.
Sainz began by commenting on the start of the season, “I approached 2022 with a certain tranquility, knowing the people I would be working with and the environment in general. But at the same time it was like starting from scratch, as we brought a brand new single-seater to the track, the child of a new regulation. And that aspect was a bit of a hassle, because of course I was already coming from a team change, and I don’t think anyone is particularly happy when there is starting from scratch.”
He added a thought about his first F1 win at Silverstone: “I always believed I had the qualities to win a race. I believe that when I’m on a good day I can be better than anyone else, and my goal is to be as good as possible on my good day. I don’t think the Silverstone win gave me such a special feeling, but I can say that it solved a … problem for me. Before that day I used to hear very often the usual question, ‘When will the first victory come?’ From the media, from fans, from my family or friends, it was a bit of a catchphrase. Now I don’t have to answer that question anymore, and that’s the only real change there has been since Silverstone!”
“It’s the way sport evaluates us: if you win you are a hero, you have a great weekend and you become the best driver in the world, no one is better than you. But if you go through a difficult period the opposite happens, it has to be taken into account. I know how good Daniel is, he found himself in a team he never felt comfortable with and that was enough to make his career take a different path. Last year he won a race, but no one remembers him now. That’s why I think we must always be focused on the next race, because every time we go out on the track we are gambling a result but also our reputation,” he said about the situation of fellow driver Daniel Ricciardo, who will not be in the 20 drivers starting next season.
Finally, he concluded, “I am experiencing the most incredible feelings in Italy. It is frankly difficult to describe what it feels like, you would have to enter the body of a Ferrari driver to understand it, to feel what we feel. I am aware that I will never forget this experience, I know that I will always be able to say that I was a Ferrari driver. And that, in itself, is something incredible.”
