Sainz: “I can definitely ride at that age when I see how well people in their 40s are doing”

Carlos Sainz arrived at Monza with great enthusiasm but didn’t want to disappoint. The Madrid-born driver managed to finish fifth in a car he admitted was not even in the top 10 in the Netherlands, having seen the real thing at Zandvoort. There Ferrari suffered from a severe battery deficit and the car was uncompetitive. But Monza is a circuit with lots of straights and very fast cars one turn ahead, and he hopes to fight for the podium with the Italian ‘Tifosi’ at a circuit where he was competitive last year. Carlos was already shining last year. He started from 18th due to an engine change, but his attack lifted the Italians from their seats and moved up to 4th in just 13 laps. he missed the podium. He hopes to do it this weekend at the circuit where he came so close to winning with McLaren in 2020. This time, he’s at the wheel of a Ferrari that has revealed big changes next year to fight for victory.

He also assessed in front of the Spanish press at Monza that Mercedes had renewed Lewis Hamilton’s contract for a two-year period, marking him reaching the age of 40 as a driver for the Brackley team. Looking at his 40 years in F1? answer affirmatively.

“What if I could run until I was 40? Yes, especially when you see how well 40-year-olds are doing (referring to Alonso), why not? And above all, 10 ‘Cause when you’re older you’ll be better than 30-year-olds.” I’m 40 now, but that’s how life works now, as the years go by, the younger the better.” he commented.

“So I will still be (better), hopefully… with the number of races, the number of events, the number of appearances, it will be the ‘coconut’ that will rule and also the direction F1 is going. Flight arrangements, calendar efficiency, how are you feeling, are you fulfilling your dreams, are you feeling fulfilled, do you still feel like you have a lot to fight… it all depends on you. .. the best examples are Rosberg (he retired in 2006 after becoming champion) or Fernando Alonso (still at his 42). Everyone is doing what they want with their lives, so all I can say for now is that I still have a lot of sanity left,” he added.

On past rumors that put Hamilton in position at Ferrari

“At that point I said I already had a contract for next year. Sometimes it’s not worth discussing. It’s not worth discussing…”

Ferrari performance this weekend

“I don’t know, I don’t predict anymore. This year is very changeable and there are so many cars in the tenth, so I’m not going to say if it works or not. If it’s good you’re on the podium, if you’re not good you’re out of the top 10. It’s very hard to predict and hopefully it goes more like Spa or Austria than Zandvoort. i hope so…”

podium

“The podium? Last year I had a podium rhythm all weekend, so this year it’s no different. It’s a circuit I’ve always liked very much and it’s always been fast. You would have seen that already in the McLaren year. (In 2020 I was close to winning in 2nd place) So of course I feel good in Monza, but we need to see how this year’s car does here and if we can get on the podium. deaf.

Performance changes from race to race

“The good thing about this year is that on the one hand it’s hard to believe that it’s going to go well in the next race because at that time he hit me in the nose like he hit us at Zandvoort. We had a bad weekend. but next weekend it might work out so you can get past the page everything is changing a lot for everyone and aston martin came from nothing but in zandvoort it’s suddenly very It’s faster, it happens to all of us…McLaren, Mercedes, some tracks are in the spotlight, some not so well, keep an open mind and see what happens this weekend It’s best to be prepared for

Did Vasseur say anything after fleeing Zandvoort?

“That’s my job. They don’t have to tell me anything. That’s what I expect from me, what they expect from me and what I want to do in F1, which is I want to get the most out of the car, so I won’t say anything.’ They expect no one to tell me anything. ”

Running in Monza: hope or pressure?

“It’s an illusion. Of course there’s pressure, especially before qualifying and the race, there’s a lot of pressure, but it’s only for certain moments before you’re in the car. The rest of the weekend is an illusion. Enjoy it. You share it with all the ‘Tifosi’ and it’s such a special occasion, being a Formula 1 driver and arriving at a Ferrari race and doing it at Monza is a fun and dream come true moment. When I turn 70, I will remember this weekend. ”

Focus on Ferrari 2024

“There will be improvements this year, but we are using the second half of the season to learn things and try to apply them to next year’s car. We know that should be a big step in another direction. “This year’s car isn’t good enough, and not only isn’t it good enough, it doesn’t give you a good feeling. So it’s time for a change and the next half is next. It’s time to learn everything possible to apply to the ‘car of the year’.