Carlos Sainz: I can fight for F1 title if I return to ‘Constant Carlos’ of 2021
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Carlos Sainz
2022 was a season of many setbacks for Carlos Sainz. While he ticked off a few boxes with his win and two pole positions, he also suffered 6 retirements – the (joint) most of any driver on the grid.1 Two of those retirements can be considered his mistake, while two were mechanical failures and in another two, he was taken out on the first corner. Moreover, especially at the beginning of the season, the Spaniard struggled to match up to his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
While his highs (the pole and win in Silverstone, the comeback in France) were incredible, the lows were very low (he suffered two consecutive retirements in two different parts of the season). Accordingly, Sainz will remember some of those great moments – but he hopes there are fewer spikes in his performance graph next season.
As per the Dutch version of Motorsport.com, Sainz said: “At the start I had two consecutive retirements [Melbourne and Imola] and at the end I was riding well but had the accident in Austin where I started from pole position. The car was then no longer good enough to win. I had highs and lows. Hopefully next year there will be less lows and many high peaks and I will have a more linear season.”
Carlos Sainz’s goal for 2023 is to ‘be consistent’
In 2021, Carlos Sainz finished as ‘best of the rest’ – P5, beating both Lando Norris and his teammate, Charles Leclerc. He finished all of the races and scored 4 podium finishes. It was undoubtedly a very strong season for him, and he was incredibly consistent throughout. In stark contrast to last season, in 2022, he suffered the most retirements on the grid which made it unable for him to really get on top and maintain consistency.
Sainz explicitly states that his goal for 2023 is to be consistent. He knows that his retirements contributed to him (and Ferrari) losing out in the championships: “My goal is to be consistent. I know what it’s like to win races, but if you want to fight for the championship, you have to be consistent. If you’re in the front, fifth or sixth is a bad result.”
The Spaniard thinks he will be able to fight for the championship if he returns to the ‘constant Carlos’ of last season, combined with a better package: “With the six or seven retirements we had, we lost a lot of points that cost us the world championship, although it is true that [Max] Verstappen and Red Bull were stronger. I think I can fight for the championship if I learn from those lessons and return to the constant Carlos of 2021, who I think finished all races.”
He will have stiff competition in his title fight. If the top three teams (Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes) are on relatively level terms in 2023, as may be the case, then all 5 other drivers are also very capable. In such a situation, Ferrari must provide a dependable base for their drivers (including Sainz), unlike it was in 2022, and then they have to do the rest.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)