Carlos Sainz remains positive looking ahead with McLaren based on the potential they have shown in the opening two races.
The Spaniard joined teammate Lando Norris in making Q3 last time out in Bahrain, the first time the British team had done that since the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix.
Disappointment would hit for the second straight race though, as contact with Max Verstappen dropped Sainz down the field before a gearbox problem resulted in retirement.
Just the simple fact that he could challenge the Red Bull has the second generation driver enthused.
“I am very encouraged about the pace of the car, about my feeling with my car,” he told Crash.net.
“I think you could see in those first three or four laps [in Bahrain] how easily I could keep up with the Mercedes and the Red Bull, how easily I was attempting a move on Max at the earliest opportunity.
“So there are a lot of positives to take. I still have a smile on my face because of that and I’m not going to let an accident like this one ruin my confidence, because my confidence is really high at the moment.”
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Sainz though does have a note of caution for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, fearing the weakness of the McLaren might be exposed.
“We will see. We need to go to front limited circuits because at the moment our car feels front limited, and a track like Bahrain which is rear limited played to our strengths,” he explained.
“We need to be careful. We need to make sure we keep changing the balance of the car, and when we get to a front limited track like China, we are on top of it, and keep being strong on different types of tracks.
“China is a completely different one to Bahrain, and we need to keep pushing.”