With some delay and a dark shirt full of sponsors, Carlos Sainz (Madrid, 31 years old) appeared this Monday in a central artery of the capital of Spain together with Ignacio Rivera, executive president of the Hijos de Rivera Corporation, responsible for Estrella Galicia, to address the media and clear up unknowns before the season starts on March 8 in Melbourne (Australia).
“We are talking about very big differences in all areas, but the most obvious is that of the engine,” explained the Williams driver, in the Great Circus. “In the Bahrain tests we have all seen it. The cars have much less downforce, they slide more and, therefore, are more difficult to drive. It is as if they had changed the entire instruction manual.”
Even so, the Madrid native refuses to give a definitive verdict that two world champions have provided, Max Verstappen and . The Dutchman assured just a few days ago that the new cars turned Formula 1 into “a Formula E on steroids.” The Asturian, for his part, regretted that the new regulations, more limiting than the previous one, would allow even “a chef” to drive his Aston Martin.
“I don’t think it’s smart to throw stones at our own roof, especially for those of us who make a living from this. If five or six races go by and I don’t like what I see, I’ll be the first to say it. But now what my body is asking me is to wait,” replies Sainz, who also responded this Monday to the British Lewis Hamilton, who pointed out that to understand the new regulations, fans should get a university degree. “It’s not that complicated. I don’t have a university degree, but I do have selectivity, and with that I can understand it quite well.”
However, the horizon for Sainz and his Williams does not look hopeful. Not at least for now. “Things have not been done well and we have not arrived prepared,” says the Madrid native, who will return to the simulator this week before flying to Melbourne. “The car is very green, it can be improved in everything. Perhaps reliability is the only thing that is saved according to what we saw in Bahrain, but everything else needs to be worked on. In the end, all the teams are going to bring many improvements throughout the season. Perhaps this will be the year with the most development of single-seaters in the history of Formula 1.”
What is certain is that it will be the first course with the circuit of Madring on the calendar, something that, although it is still far away (September 13), where there are still months of work to get everything ready for the big day. “Everyone is free to give their opinion what they want, there would be more to it, but I would like people to give it a chance before refusing outright,” says Sainz. “I know that Formula 1 makes noise and moves a lot of people, but it also brings good things. We are going to wait and analyze everything when it has already happened.”
At 31 years old – he will be 32 in September, just before opening the Ifema track –, Sainz is already one of the most established drivers on the grid, something that has not helped him get rid of a sambenito that he does not quite like: that of driver worker. “It bothers me a little that they put me in that bag, to be honest,” he admits. “In Las Vegas, for example, you have to go at 350 kilometers per hour and brake later than the rest with the wheels at ten degrees. . That’s not work, it’s talent. In Formula 1, you’re either fast, or you go home. No team is going to sign you for your work. Me neither.”
