Carlos Sainz is hankering to get into the cockpit of his 2023 Formula 1 car, the SF-23, and go racing after a three-month break which he felt was too long.
Carlos Sainz had a wobbly start to his 2022 F1 season and took some time until he found his feet taking his first career pole position and victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix.
However, the Spaniard is fully energized and ready to get going this season, and expressed that when previewing the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.
“It’s about time this break came to an end!” he told the media in Bahrain. “Three months without racing is too long and I’m impatient to start.
Speaking of pre-season testing; Sainz said: “We tackled it managing to make the most of the time available. I had the right approach physically and mentally and also when working with the engineers, we were always in agreement on the direction we were going in.
“We tried the car in every configuration to understand its strengths and weaknesses and I feel that we are coming into this season better prepared when compared to the last one,” the 28-year-old pointed out.
No worries ahead of the busiest season
Red Bull seem the team to beat as the 2022 F1 season starts, and while Ferrari looked as well, where they good enough to fight for top honours from the very beginning?
“I’m not worried about that,” Sainz responded. “We have the busiest season ever ahead of us and we know that nothing will be decided this weekend.
“Of course, I can’t wait to push all the way on track to see how the car feels on the limit. I think that as the season is about to start, there are several teams that look well prepared. Obviously, the world champions, but also Mercedes and Aston Martin seem to have done a good job.
“At the moment, we are just focussing on ourselves, but we know that, as from tomorrow, it’s the track that will decide the true pecking order between the teams,” the three-time pole-sitter concluded.
Sainz was echoing the same sentiments of his Team Principal Fred Vasseur who also recently insisted the Title won’t be won or lost in Bahrain.
Buongiorno #Tifosi ??☀️@BAH_Int_Circuit pic.twitter.com/DYtEZL9aQa
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 3, 2023