The Spanish Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz faces the next Spanish GP with a new teammate, the Russian Daniil Kvyat, and with the idea of «enjoying» at the wheel of the STR11 on the asphalt of Montmeló, as he always tries to «do» in every race.
«For me, that is the key to my own success. Whenever I get into a Formula One race, I have a smile on my face, and that is what makes me enjoy and go fast, ”the Estrella Galicia 0,0 driver said in an interview with EFE.
Sainz is already in Barcelona to attend various commitments from his sponsors before facing an intense weekend in which he will try to claim once again as one of the most promising drivers on the grid.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, with whom he has fought for the last fourteen months at Toro Rosso, has been chosen by Red Bull to replace Kvyat, demoted to the second team of the Austrian team after overwhelming Sebastian Vettel at the Russian GP.
“Obviously, when I heard the news, I was surprised like everyone else. I would have liked to be the one to go up to Red Bull but, as the days went by, I began to see it almost as an advantage. My route plan did not include climbing Red Bull in the fourth race of 2016, so for me nothing has changed, “he says.
Sainz knows that if this season ends well, he could have a chance next year: “I know what I have been able to do against Max and Red Bull knows it too. If at the end of the year I have a couple of good results that accompany my speed, I think I will have a chance. So be patient, clench my teeth and show more than ever what I can do.
In qualifying, Carlos Sainz has shown one grand prize after another who is as fast as Verstappen, considered the greatest young talent in Formula One. In the race, on the other hand, the Dutchman has won the game on many occasions, although in many of them for reasons beyond the control of Spanish.
Carlos Sainz Jr., son of former world rally champion Carlos Sainz, refuses to talk about bad luck, the one they said was chasing his father.
I don’t think bad luck exists. We have been very fast in these first four races, we have shown it in qualifying, and in the race we have always gone forward, but too many times stones have appeared on the road, “he acknowledges when analyzing the start of this season.
Sainz refers to the puncture he suffered in Bahrain early in the race, the strategic error that prevented him from being ahead in China or the part of a crashed car that plugged his radiator and prevented him from scoring in Russia.
“I would have liked to add more points – he has four so far – but only 4 races out of 21 have been played. There are 17 left, practically a whole World Cup, and we are going to try to change that trend a little,” he declares.
His goal for this year is to “get the most out of the car in every race” and, from there, vindicate himself with some good results that open the doors to Red Bull for him.
He knows that he has to take advantage of this first half of the championship, “because we have the engine of 2015, all the teams are going to evolve, and logic says that we should go back a little bit as the year progresses.”
In the garage he will no longer have Verstappen, but Kyvat, a pilot he knows very well. «Since I was 13 years old, in karts, which I have been fighting with Daniil and he has been my partner in many categories. We get along very well, he is a terrific rider who knows the team and has a year more experience than me, so be careful because overtaking him is not going to be easy, “he warns.
In any case, Carlos Sainz, who in 2014 was the youngest champion (with just turned 24) of the ‘World Series by Renault’ and one of Red Bull’s ‘darling children’ since he surprised the Austrian team with some Stratospheric chronos in a test in 2013, he has enormous self-confidence.
«I came to Formula One by the most complicated route there is, which is the program of young Red Bull drivers, who do not choose just anyone and are not afraid of kicking anyone out. If these Red Bull guys trust me, I must have something very special, “he sums up.
In 2015, in his debut at the Gran Circo, he made the best debut of a Spanish rider with his eighth place in Australia. “Last year, with the qualifications and some races that I did, it was confirmed that I am not here because I am father’s son,” he says proudly.
However, Carlos Sainz does not deny his father’s advice, quite the contrary, although he cannot speak to him about driving, “because he has zero experience in Formula One.”
Even so, listen carefully to everything he says. “He knows what it’s like to be a world champion, what it’s like to be in a program for young drivers, what it is to be put up to fight in a World Championship and, above all, he gives me advice on the attitude with which I should face all of this. Every time I look more like my father in the attitude he had to be world champion, “he says. EFE
Carlos Sainz Jr .: “Whenever I get into an F1 car I have a smile on my face”
