Carlos Sainz admits "Brazil isn't ideal for us", but is confident Ferrari "can be in contention"
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Coincidentally, Carlos Sainz, his family, and much of the Ferrari team had planned to travel from Mexico to Brazil on Monday. Without the usual Sunday night escape, Carlos was able to celebrate his victory with a small party at a club where Lando Norris was also present.
"It was a fun evening," the Spanish driver shared, "but I didn't go to bed too late; by 2 am, I was at the hotel because I had a flight to Brazil at 9 am. I admit that while I was celebrating, I was partly thinking about this weekend; my mind was already on Interlagos, but I had fun. The only annoying part was seeing so many people focused on making videos for social media. I'd like to suggest putting the phones away when you're having fun; if someone wants to congratulate me, come shake my hand, but keep the phone in your pocket if you want to be welcomed." – the Ferrari driver pointed out.
Carlos Sainz arrived in Brazil with the satisfaction of achieving all the goals he had set for himself. "Let's be clear, I'm not suddenly going to relax and go on vacation," Carlos emphasized. "I'll still be ready to fight for every opportunity. I had started putting a lot of pressure on myself; I wanted another win before the end of the year—it was important for me to get another success before leaving the team."
Speaking of the Maranello team, Carlos Sainz was asked if he would return to Ferrari if a call came in the future. "Yes, of course! My door will always be open for Ferrari, but in the short and medium term, my commitment is to Williams. I've always liked focusing on long-term projects, which is why it wasn't easy for me to change approach this year, knowing I'd only be working in the very short term." – he pointed out.
The Mexican victory has given Carlos Sainz a significant boost. "I've secured a good dose of energy for myself and, I believe, for the whole team. Achieving two consecutive wins has really motivated the entire team. For me, I'll remember the Mexico weekend as a reminder that when I have everything under control, I can win races, and if I continue to act this way, I can become a world champion. I just need to keep reminding myself of that and stay focused on myself to understand how I can keep performing like I did in Mexico."
The schedule immediately shifts to the challenge of this weekend. Carlos (like Charles Leclerc) remembers the difficulties with Ferrari last year at Interlagos, but a year later, things have changed significantly. "On paper, it doesn't seem to be the most favorable track for us, but focusing just on the characteristics of the corners, I think we can still be in contention. By 'in contention,' I mean fighting for the top 5, aiming for the podium, and, if the opportunity presents itself, fighting for the win. I don't think we'll confirm the potential we had in Austin or Mexico, but we could still be in the game. Plus, with what's happening between Max and Lando…you never know." – the Spaniard continued.
Carlos Sainz also explained the reasons behind Ferrari's confirmed progress. "My personal feeling is that we've taken a small step forward in terms of downforce, which turned out to be a bigger step in terms of usable load. This has benefited how you can make the car work in terms of stiffness and other parameters. I'm very happy the car doesn't bounce like it did mid-season and that it's in a good operating window. This is how a Formula 1 car should behave; now we have a much better platform to work with, a more exploitable car." – he concluded ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
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