Ahead of his debut with the team this weekend in Austin, Carlos Sainz was impressed by what he saw after visiting Renault’s Formula 1 base at Enstone, describing it as a “different world” to former team Toro Rosso.
It was announced during the last race weekend in Japan that the highly-rated 23-year-old would be making his planned 2018 move early, with Jolyon Palmer agreeing to vacate his seat early.
Therefore, in a bid to get his know his new team and likely complete a seat-fitting, the Spaniard made his first trip to the same factory his hero Fernando Alonso would make during his championship winning years just over a decade ago.
“The atmosphere was very good and people were very happy to see Carlos because it was known for some time that he was going to come to the team,” his cousin and manager Carlos Elnoro told Spain’s El Confidencial. “His arrival is a stimulus for the team before the last races of a long season.”
Commenting on his first thoughts, Sainz added: “The extension at the factory is still under construction but there are already 640 people working there. The facilities give an impression of Renault’s commitment to be back at the top in F1. It’s another world compared to Toro Rosso.”
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Looking ahead to his first race in the black and yellow at the United States Grand Prix, he vowed to get up to speed as soon as possible but admits it will take a little time to adjust to his new surroundings.
“I’m very excited to joining the team and I hope to hit the ground running,” Sainz said. “We have some hard work ahead of us going into Austin with lots of things to learn and many people to meet.
“I’m going to give everything to be on the pace as soon as possible even though I know it can take a bit of time to adapt, but I’m confident we can do it. It’s key to have this immediate taste with Renault and get to know the people and the car. It’s a big challenge, but it motivates me.
“We have this last push for the season and I have to find where the limit of the car is, get used to the steering wheel, things like that. That’s the procedure and I will embrace the challenge.
“It’s good to see the people at Enstone putting the work in to get back to the top. They can be sure all the effort being put in is being matched on my side of things and I will be pushing flat out to help the team.”
Finally, Carlos, who will remain in the Red Bull stable during his stint with Renault, can also depend on the experienced hand of his new teammate Nico Hulkenberg to help him settle.
“I’m looking forward to working with Carlos. We need to finish off the season well together to help the team in the Constructors’ standings,” the German said.
“I’ll be doing everything I can to help him hit the ground running with the team, but he is a very capable driver with a bright future. He has shown what he can do in F1 and we’ll be aiming for a positive start to our partnership in Austin.”
