Just hours before setting off for Sochi, the location of this weekend’s F1 Russian GP, the Ferrari  racer Carlos Sainz has touched down in Madrid, where he has taken part in an event organized by his sponsor Estrella Galicia 0.0%. There he has met face to face with the Spaniard press for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. 

During the press conference, the driver spoke about his first season with Ferrari as well as of Formula One in general. Talking about the season so far, the #55 was asked about his most memorable performance with La Scuderia to date, which he said to be his second place at the Monaco GP. Carlos Sainz is also optimistic about the remaining eight races of 2021, where he hopes to achieve one or two great results: 

“It is hard to pick the best moment of this season so far. There has been many, such as the podium in Monaco, although I did not enjoy it because I was still angry for not getting pole position the day before. The best is yet to come”. 

“There are still some circuits I like left such as Austin and Mexico. I hope to continue feeling comfortable and learning new things about the car as well as achieving its best set-up. I would like to give some more pleasant surprises, in terms of fighting for the podium as I did in Monaco or Great Britain, so why not try to do it over the eight remaining races. In the upcoming circuits I don’t really see myself as having a clear chance, but at Silverstone and elsewhere we weren’t expecting it either and we did it”. 

Regarding the present time, and following his last two consecutive accidents, Carlos Sainz was enquired about his adaptation to his new machine, the SF21: 

“Whether I have already adapted or not to the car this season, is a tricky question to answer because you can see yourself getting fast with the car, but you still make some mistakes. To get the most out of a car you have to spend several years in a team. In the absence of tests, you make mistakes during the GPs”. 

Carlos Sainz has also revealed that La Scuderia is now concentrating its efforts in the development of the car for the new era of the sport in 2022 and that this should revolutionise the hierarchy of the competition: 

“Next year’s regulatory change will be a complete reset for the Formula 1, the biggest in the last fifteen or twenty years. It’s going to be a fresh start for everyone. What I ask of Ferrari, as I do of myself, is to arrive there as prepared as possible”. 

“We will be working on next year’s car from January. Ninety per cent of the sessions that I am currently doing in the simulator are with next year’s car and ten per cent have to do with the races remaining in this year’s calendar. The majority of the meetings at the factory are also regarding the change of car next year”. 

Finally, he has vowed to fight very hard towards getting crowned with Ferrari one day: 

 “I am happy when I win; I have come to Formula 1 and I want to try to be world champion one day with Ferrari. My goal and what I work for every day, both in Maranello and at home, is to be World Champion”. 

Images of Carlos Sainz: Estrella Galicia.