“It seems that I only go fast because I work a lot”

In Formula 1 you are only as good as your last race, so Carlos Sainz (Madrid, 27 years old) It will be until March the best of the rest, the fifth in the World Cup and the author of four podiums. The third member of a historical photo, with Verstappen and Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. In his last interview of the 2021 season, or the first of 2022, the Ferrari driver talks twenty minutes with AS. Of future, of work, of talent, of respect and expectations fulfilled or to be fulfilled. Next year, both he and the Maranello team are aiming for a lot. They are ready.

– Did it meet your expectations in the first year of Ferrari?

“I had pretty high expectations, because I like to set the bar as high as possible so I can do my best to meet it.” With a high goal, you demand more of yourself during the season. I can’t say if I have fulfilled them all or not, but I knew it would be a season of adaptation, tough, especially at the beginning, and the most important thing was to finish the year stronger than I started, with a good progression. And that I have more than fulfilled.

—A final podium with the champion and the best driver of the decade, with his family below, is the best epilogue to 2021 …

—And because it was a relatively normal race, the only thing different was Checo’s abandonment. A very complete race, since Saturday. In Russia I also shared the podium with Hamilton and Verstappen on a difficult Sunday in the water. But yes, maybe Abu Dhabi was a more complete weekend and also having my family down was special, because they had not been on any podium before.

“How do you tolerate when things go wrong for you?”

—There are always moments, in a 22-race season, when you’re not happy because you know you’re not performing at your best. It is those moments that let you know in which direction you should not go. Without those more difficult moments, I would not have been able to learn what I learned and put it into practice in the last six or seven races. It is key to identify what you have done wrong on a difficult weekend so as not to repeat it.

“What’s Leclerc got?”

-Everything. What does it not have?

“You’ve seen the telemetries, is he the expected great pilot?”

“Without a doubt, he’s one of the greats.” Specialist in many things and much more hard-working than people think. Work, we all work, hard. He has the full package of speed, work and perseverance, I doubt there are people much faster than him in Formula 1.

“So what did you do to finish the season ahead?”

“I don’t know what I have done or not done.” I know that I focused on myself, I understood the car, I adapted and put it to my liking. And I know that when I have a car to my liking, and I adapt to the way it has to be driven, I am very fast.

“Can the teammate be trusted?”

—My philosophy is that, to have a comfortable environment within the team and not have to be worried about it. In F1 there is enough pressure and competitiveness, and bad times, to have to put on a bigger weight within your own team. The atmosphere has to be positive, I also want the team to improve and I know it will be like that when the two riders get along and go in the same direction. Getting along with the partner in the end is self-interest. It is pure logic.

– Do you read information about F1 in the press?

-Every time less.

“Why less and less?”

-I try. I read F1 because I am a fan, not just a driver, I love the sport just as I read football and golf. But it is true that I try to do it less and less, because I think flattery weakens and criticism distracts. As there is always praise or criticism, I try to read little.

“When you’ve read a list of the stomping drivers, with Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc or George Russell, and they haven’t included you, have you felt undervalued?”

—People who have to take me into account, take me into account. And if not, ask Charles or Lando, who have seen my telemetry, my data, or even team leaders in which I have worked and competed. There, as they know what I am capable of, they would value me very well. I don’t know, it’s something I try not to think about, because those who know me know what there is.

“Is Sainz talent or work?”

—Let’s see how I answer… no matter how hard you put in, if you don’t have talent, you don’t do a quick lap in qualifying. That is why I think it is mostly talent, and the rest I put it with work. But you would be surprised with what other pilots work. Perhaps there is not much talk, or I have the reputation of a worker and not a talent. I do not know why.

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Because you are going to live next to the factory …

—But there are many who are also going to live near the factory and spend hours similar to mine. Another thing is that I am heavier, or dedicate more hours, but it does not mean that I work more, but that it is quality of work. All I’m saying is that without talent, no matter how fast you go, you are not going to do fast laps in Formula 1.

—Then, the fame of working hard is fine, but not only …

—Then you can misrepresent what I say… but it seems that I have earned the fame of being a worker, that I only go fast because I work. But you don’t adapt so quickly to a car without talent.

“How many hours are you going to put in the factory this winter?”

—Similar to those of 2020. If it had been a continuation year, with a car that is still in development, perhaps less. But being a year with a completely new car, it is a new category. I will have to do the same winter as when I arrived at Ferrari.

– That Mercedes and Red Bull have been distracted with the title of 2021, is it good for Ferrari in 2022?

—I want to think so, but my head tells me that these teams are so good that they are capable of doing both at the same time and they will be at the top, for sure.

—What 2022 do you imagine?

“I imagine two extremes.” A team that nails it, suddenly, and wins with a serious advantage. Or the other extreme, which is a completely even season, and it is what I want. This year we saw the drivers making a difference, there were four cars capable of fighting for the World Championship and it is the drivers who have put the rest.

—Is it strange to see as world champion a pilot who not so long ago was a kid, your partner, in the —Toro Rosso of 2015?

It’s not strange to me because you could see it coming from the first races, Max had those options. I firmly believe that there are seven or eight world champions on the grid right now. Whoever gets the car, will be the champion. Although what Max has done has been special, the level at which he and Hamilton have competed is spectacular.

“Seven or eight?”

“I don’t know if it’s an exact number.” But there are many pilots with the potential to be.

“You weren’t that different a pilot from Max, telemetry and so on.” What is the way to get in the car that allows you to fight for a title?

—Max has known how to wait at Red Bull at the right time, he has been waiting for this moment for five years. Hamilton, on the contrary, hit the key in the first year and then hit the key with Mercedes. There is no secret formula. I am in favor of teaming up, creating a base and a family and working hard. And I believe in stability, it always brings good results in Formula 1. It has always given me good results and there are many examples apart from me, and I think they corroborate it.

“He got to McLaren and first of the rest.” He came to Ferrari, after another tough season, and first of the rest. Is it a coincidence?

-Hopefully not. I do not know how much of my percentage has contributed to that, I am not the one to value it, far from it. But I also came to Renault in 2018 and we won the best of the rest as a team that year. I like to see so many matches in a row on some stats. 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, are four years belonging to the best team the rest, I do not know how much I have influenced but I like that statistic.

“Talk about stability.” Now that there will be teams interested, how in a hurry are you to renew with Ferrari?

“Considering I have another year left on my contract, I’m in no rush.” But it is true that right now I do not see myself anywhere other than Ferrari in the medium or long term. I am happy here, I enjoy it a lot and I go home after each race with a smile and pride in being a Ferrari driver. And if you add good results to that, I think I won’t be better than at Ferrari anywhere. I am happy to be here.

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