Sainz admits this was the year “I learned the most”

Speaking to the championship’s official website, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz admitted he had learned more from his 2022 roller coaster than any other campaign since he arrived in the sport seven years ago, and said he would “take the positive” next year.

Asked to reflect on the year 2022, and what he learned from the experiences of successes and failures, Sainz said: “A lot, to be honest. A very difficult start to the season, where I found myself immediately struggling and faced challenges that I probably didn’t expect, but honestly, I’m proud of how I recovered the season, how I was able to stay motivated, even with all the ups and downs I experienced, including all the setbacks we’ve had.”

“As a team, as an individual, with so many DNFs, we still managed to turn back the season and now I’m driving again at the level I know I can drive. I’ll take the positive and keep it positive.”

Considering how much he needs to adapt his driving style to the 2022 specification, and after his particularly difficult start to the season, Sainz reckons his debut F1 campaign is the only time he’s learned over the year.

“I think, in that sense, this was the year I learned the most since 2015 -which was my first year in Formula 1-. Then I had harder and easier years, but never a year as 2022 demands.” , said Sainz, who finished fifth, three places and 62 points behind Leclerc.

“I found myself in a position where, in this car, I was always out of pace in the first five, six races, and I had to fight hard to change some things in my driving, some things in car, you’re still trying to get the car to my liking.”

“Also, [tuve que] to stop having some muscle memory in my driving and readjust the way I drive a little bit, and it took a long time. But once it happened, I felt like I made a big step forward as a driver in my skills, in my development, and I learned a lot.”