Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says Carlos Sainz Jr.’s strong first half with them wasn’t a surprise given his form alongside previous teammates.
Sainz’s 2015 debut season alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso and the last two seasons as a team-mate of Lando Norris at McLaren were clear signs of his ability, Binotto said. During the summer break, Sainz leads his team-mate Charles Leclerc by three points in the championship.
Binotto said he was “not surprised” that Sainz started his Ferrari career so well. “When we made the decision and contacted him to make him the offer, we did a lot of analysis and we knew he was a strong driver.
“We knew he was a strong racing driver, we knew he was very consistent in the race and he was quick too. I think he’s proven he’s fast since he was in F1.
“We shouldn’t forget that his very first Formula 1 season was with Toro Rosso, his team-mate Max, and he did well in the first year. And when we look at last year with Lando, I think again, he did very well and we know how strong Lando is and I think he shows that this season too. So we are not surprised at how strong or how fast it is. “
Sainz and Verstappen made their F1 debut together. While other drivers have struggled with team changes this year – including Sainz ‘McLaren successor Daniel Ricciardo – Ferrari’s latest hire was quick to arrive, Binotto said.
“I’m happy to see that he is fine because it shows that I think we made the right choice. I’m also looking forward to seeing how he integrates into the team and how he behaves towards Charles. When it comes to leadership, I’m also satisfied, the type of leadership is evident, not just in the car, from the cockpit when he’s back in Maranello. So overall I am satisfied. “
However, Binotto believes Sainz has yet to show his full potential with a completely trouble-free weekend.
“What I expect from him in the second half [is] He has not yet managed a whole weekend – here or there there is always a mistake: qualification, start or in the race.
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“So I expect that he will keep learning the team, keep learning the car and hopefully soon put together a whole weekend. I think that’s important to him first. “
Although Sainz is also pleased with how quickly he got used to life at Ferrari, he admitted that he still has room for improvement.
Binotto wants Sainz to have a flawless weekend. “I’m very happy, especially with the speed I had with the car. Since the first race, I’ve had the feeling of sitting in the car and was able to push it to the limit and keep the pace straight away on pretty much every track I’ve driven.
“It definitely doesn’t feel like my strongest season in Formula 1. I feel like there are a lot of points here and there, a lot of missed opportunities. “
Sainz agreed with Binotto’s analysis of his season so far. “I didn’t put a whole weekend together and that’s something I used to do very well,” he said. “For some reason, maybe just being part of a new team, it just takes time to maximize the weekends.”
His last race in Hungary was a clear example of how to fix mistakes, admitted Sainz.
“I made a mistake in qualifying, I paid the price in the race and a strange thing happened during the pit stop that didn’t allow us to let go. That’s why we missed a podium opportunity and suddenly the whole weekend doesn’t taste that good anymore because I have the feeling that we could have scored even better points.
“So this is a very good example of how the first 10, 11 races felt, with very good speed again in qualifying, in Q1, in FP3, but for some reason something didn’t go according to plan and we ended.” where we landed. “
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F1 season 2021
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