Overwhelmed by bad luck, Sainz is “angry” but remains optimistic
With Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz is one of the unluckiest drivers in the paddock this season. His latest retirement in Brazil particularly annoyed him. Nevertheless, he hopes to bounce back next year to prove his worth against Max Verstappen.
While his teammate Max Verstappen strings together solid performances this season, Carlos Sainz is rather accumulating retirements: seven in total. In Brazil last weekend, the Spanish driver was let down by his Renault power unit. Already, during free practice and qualifying, he experienced telemetry and clutch issues.
The cup is visibly full: « Honestly, it bugs me. This situation makes me angry because I think we had a great opportunity to score points » he regrets.
The former Formula Renault 3.5 champion is concerned about his limited track time this season: « Of course, as a rookie, this is not what you want and it’s not the reason you’re here. You’re here to gain experience and to learn, so it doesn’t add up with such a number of retirements this season. »
Next season, Carlos Sainz hopes to experience fewer mishaps. He believes, however, that he has already managed to win over the good graces of the paddock: « You can only hope that next year will be smooth for you, and that’s it. When you’re in your first year and encounter so many problems, but still manage to somewhat impress the paddock, it doesn’t make you entirely sad. When this year is over, I’ll think about what could have happened without so many retirements. But overall, I will be happy with my performance. »
Carlos Sainz, like Max Verstappen, will be renewed by Toro Rosso next year, provided of course that the Italian team finds an engine supplier – there is persistent talk about a 2015 Ferrari V6.
