Although his integration at Ferrari has been exemplary and his performance increasingly solid, Carlos Sainz knows that he still has a lot to improve to return to being the driver we saw at McLaren.
The 2021 season of Carlos Sainz He is being remarkable, because in his debut with Ferrari he is equaling the results of Charles Leclerc (he has three more points in the drivers’ championship) and he has already achieved two podiums dressed in red.
However, the Madrid driver is not satisfied with that, as he knows well that he has not yet offered everything he has as a result of a first half of the season very focused on learning about the new car and his team.
“I feel like there are many points, many missed opportunities here and there”
“I don’t feel like it’s my best season in F1, definitely. I feel like there are a lot of points, a lot of missed opportunities here and there. As a Ferrari driver, I have not done a full weekend and this is something I used to do very well », admits a Carlos Sainz who remembers his performance at McLaren.
Certainly, Sainz has alternated great moments with some mistakes in key situations, which has weighed down his result at the end of each Grand Prix. “For whatever reason, maybe it’s just being part of a team, it just takes time to maximize the weekends. I’m happy with the way I’m integrating into the team and in the first half of the season ”, reflects Sainz.
There is speed, there is a lack of consistency
What is undeniable is that Carlos Sainz is knowing how to get the speed out of his Ferrari SF21, especially in the race. Now, the Spaniard wants to complete weekends without failures to further improve his results.
«I am very happy, particularly with the speed I have had with the car and from the first race I felt like I was on top of the car, I was able to push it to the limit and be in rhythm immediately on almost all circuits, “he admits.
“This weekend (Hungary) I think it is the best example. I made a mistake in quali (accident in Q1), I paid the price in the race. And there was a strange thing in the pit stop that didn’t allow us to get out, we lost a podium opportunity because of that. Suddenly the whole weekend doesn’t taste so good because I feel like we could have scored even more points », concludes Sainz, who expects a much more solid second half of the season.