Carlos Sainz has met with the press in Madrid at an event organized by his sponsor, Estrella Galicia 0,0, at just days before the first race of the year. On March the 17th, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne rises the curtain of the 2019 F1 calendar season.

During the event at the Railway Museum of the Spanish capital, Sainz spoke about the exciting journey ahead with McLaren. The driver from Madrid has described his first impressions after testing the MCL34 in Barcelona. His speech has resonated with optimism, motivation and confidence in his new adventure.

Carlos Sainz’ Stand

 Carlos Sainz and his sponsor since 2013 have used the event to launch the 4th edition of the Carlos Sainz’ Stand. The promo consists of a special sale of 1.600 tickets for the Spanish Grand Prix of 2019 at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

Under this promotion, tickets which would normally cost 370 euros are discounted to 99 euros each. Carlos Sainz is well aware of how costly it is to watch Formula 1 live and so he is delighted to be part of this initiative that makes the sport more accessible to fans. A great initiative!

Carlos Sainz: Satisfied with the testing sessions in Barcelona

 At the press conference, Carlos Sainz first spoke about the behaviour of his new car during the pre-season testing. He declared to be satisfied with the car’s development and proud of the teamwork that has gone into it.

He also said to be optimistic with the car’s initial response but mindful of the enormous margin for improvement that still exists: “It has been a good start. This year we completed 873 laps against the 400 laps of 2018. That figure shows the qualitative jump we have achieved. It is a good starting point. “

“There is no doubt that we are better prepared than in previous years. The team has learned from the mistakes of the past and of last year in particular, which was hard for the team. We will arrive in Australia better prepared than in 2018″, declared driver from Madrid.

We know the car better and are more aware of the areas where it needs to improve. This gives us motivation and a little more confidence, knowing that the right steps are being taken. I prefer to start with this year’s number of laps than those of 2018.”

Ferrari: A long way ahead of McLaren

Asked about their distance from Ferrari, Carlos Sainz has calculated that the red missiles are approximately a second ahead of McLaren. He stressed, however, that the Woking team should focus on their own objectives and their own battle, which is to be fought in the middle of the table.

“It is no secret that Ferrari has started very fast and strong. It will be one of the 2019 teams fighting with Mercedes and Red Bull. But that is still a bit far away for us. We must be patient and focus on ourselves before looking at Ferrari, which is a long way ahead of us”.

In reference to Sebastian Vettel’s fastest lap record in Barcelona, Sainz thinks it is due to the fact that the SF90 is a step above – both as an integral and global concept – of all the other single-seaters.

“Everything in the Ferrari is a little better than in the others. The 1: 16.02 of Vettel in Montmelo, now with the chicane, is an amazing time but judging by the images of his onboard camera, it cannot be determined that he has ‘this or that’, that the others do not have. They have a little more of everything, which is what gives them that little extra. In my own calculations, around a second per lap. I hope it’s less but it also may be a bit more.”

Sainz has also been making predictions about the tough fight ahead for the teams in the middle zone of the grid: “The rest of us (except for Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) we are very close together. We do not know what Renault, Alfa Romeo or Racing Point have or what package they will take to Australia.”

“Not knowing that it is therefore impossible to predict where each of us will be in Melbourne. As much as you look at the simulations it is impossible to know because you can do a lot to gain a few tenths. These are not even worth looking at”

Where is the improvement margin? 

Regarding their disadvantage to other cars on the grid, Sainz has explained what it is that needs to be scrutinised: “When you look at a rival’s onboard camera and divide that second of advantage between all the bends of the circuit, you get a tenth or half a tenth of a second per bend. All those tenths of a second add up to one full second, which seems like an eternity. That is precisely what we have to look at and analyse in order to improve our car”.

Improvements for 2019: “We have to wait and see“ 

Regarding the improvements in the aerodynamics and tires for 2019 Sainz has been cautious but hopeful. “During the tests, it was not possible to establish whether the new aerodynamic package will improve overtaking or not. We have to wait for the first races.”

Sainz has also commented on the latest range of compound tires: “In reality, the new tires are very similar to those of last year, you can barely tell the difference. However, we must wait and see how they perform in combination with the new aerodynamic package. That will be the key. But trying them for the first time I didn’t notice any significant difference from those of the 2018 season.”

Carlos Sainz has concluded his press conference with a call for patience … and optimism: “We still need more time to get to know the car better but the best thing of all is that the team has already identified the areas that need improving, as well as the weaknesses of the car. “

Images: Estrella Galicia 0,0., McLaren and Ferrari