Sainz, six races with a goal between his eyebrows: “Before Williams I had to finish the job”

The countdown begins for Carlos Sainz. After almost a month off, the Spaniard will face his last 6 races in Ferrari red with the utmost enthusiasm before starting his next challenge at Williams. And he does it with a clear purpose. It doesn’t hide. He wants to achieve another victory to add to his three victories in F1, all of them with the ‘Prancing Horse’ on his chest (Silverstone 2022, Singapore 2023 and Australia 2024), or at least some podiums to say goodbye to ‘ tifosi’ over the drawer.

“I don’t feel anything special about achieving that success, more than a great motivation to try to achieve it. Nothing would make me happier than to achieve this before the end of the year. I will give it my all,” argued Carlos, clarifying, however, that he is very clear that in the future he will return to the fight for victories and that these six races will not be his last six wins in F1.

“If it comes, great and I will celebrate it, without doubt, and if not, I don’t think it will be my last chance to fight for victory or podium in F1. position, if it is at Williams like more still in the future, to be in a position to win races because that’s the hunger I have and that’s what I believe I can do and what I’ve proven I can do here at Ferrari, ” So it doesn’t end there.” he added, asserting himself.

In that sense, when he was asked if he was thinking more about his end (for now) at Ferrari or the beginning of his project at Williams, he was clear.

“For me, these are two different things. I’m looking forward to next year and the challenge that being at Williams means. And I also want to see how much they have improved recently and how the car can score points often, even in the last few races. That is something hopeful and I look forward to it, But I have to finish work first. There are 6 races left this year in a car that could allow me to win a race or get a few more podiums. So I want to maximize this opportunity to see if I can help the team and finish as high as I can in the constructors’ championship. And obviously, being able to give myself that podium or a victory and that is what I focus on the next 6 races,” he commented.

In Austin, it’s complicated

Despite the great desire of Carlos Sainz to achieve that victory, the weekend was his Ferrariwithout improvements for this track and against rivals with evolutions, and on a circuit that should favor more cars like McLaren either Red Bullhe seems unable to aspire to success under normal conditions. Maybe we have to wait for more favorable routes like Vegas. And for now, Sainz is focused on evaluating the speed of his car on a more representative track with the evolution of the last races.

“We’re not bringing anything new here, just what we’ve been bringing since Monza. I think a small improvement on the front wing for Singapore, but more than thatIt is about confirming that the race speed we have, which is better in the last three races, is because they are more favorable in circuits like Monza, Baku or Singapore, or because the improvements have had an impact and made us more competitive on those tracks. . “Austin can tell us which of the two options is true.”Sainz said.

“We have more confidence in the improvements we’ve been bringing since Monza. They’re starting to work everywhere and I stand by what I said before, that until we get to Austin we won’t be able to measure how much we’ve really done improve compared to tracks like Zandvoort, Spa, tracks where we struggled more. “I think it will be the most important test for us so far to see that all the improvements we are bringing are working in the right direction at a slightly more normal track like Austin.”he added in this regard.

“I think a lot of our belief in the Constructors’ Championship will be solidified or cemented in the next races, because if only Singapore, Monza and Baku had gone we thought we could, but The following tracks were more standard and there we saw that we would be a step behind and we would not perform as much as in Spa or Zandvoort. So that’s where our faith goes. We are checking that we are back on more normal tracks, with high-speed corners, long corners, and to see how we go on this type of tracks and if we can compete like in Monza, Baku and Singapore. I think others took advantage of this 3 week break to bring improvements and we didn’t. We are constantly working to improve in each area but it seems that there will be some teams with improvements and the grid order may change a bit. That’s why it’s important to reevaluate from this moment,” said the native of Madrid.

Happy with Williams’ move

“I think it is very important because obviously in our conversations with James (Wovles) we talked a lot this season, about how much they are going to improve and what position they will be in by 2025. And so far he has kept his word. With the improvements in F1 you never know, as we have seen this year, because the addition of 3 tenths is not always the same tenths that are on paper. He seems to be keeping his word and the team is taking appropriate steps in that direction,” he commented on Williams’ move in recent events. However, he clarified that he joined the Grove ensemble for other reasons.

“That news, or promises, or expectations of improving the car throughout the season and looking forward to next year didn’t affect my decision much. My decision was based more on people and how it felt I when I talked to the bosses, the owners and the feeling that the organization gave me, which was more than what Williams could do in a short period of time, it convinced me more than the downforce that they would do or that the car will be here or there in 6 months or 12 months. The people, their professionalism and the vision they have for the project convinced me. And this was the differentiating factor for me,” he revealed.