Carlos Sainz believes he is ready and prepared to help Ferrari return to the top in Formula 1 when he joins next season.
The Spaniard quickly emerged as the replacement for the outgoing Sebastian Vettel, when the four-time world champion’s departure was announced back in May.
His timing though is somewhat questionable, with the Scuderia having dropped back into the midfield pack in 2020 and Ferrari’s chairman John Elkann already ruled out wins before the new technical regulations in 2022.
Still, Sainz found himself in this position just last year at McLaren and would spearhead the British team back to P4 in the Constructors’ standings and claimed sixth himself in the Drivers’ Championship.
So for now, the second generation driver continues to back himself and his decision to take on one of the biggest seats on the F1 grid.
“In Formula 1, it takes time and the fact that you need to be in the right place at the right time,” he told The Race last weekend in Barcelona.
“Hopefully I’ve taken the right direction going into the future. I’ll be part of an amazing team and I cannot wait to see what’s going on with Ferrari and to help with whatever I can help with as a driver with my inputs.
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“I’ve gone through a really exciting period with McLaren and I think it’s helped me to learn a lot about how a team can evolve and how to help a team move forwards.
“I go with the right amount of experience and with the right amount of motivation to help as much as I can.”
Sainz does at least head to Ferrari at a time when expectations are a little lower than usual at Maranello and instead, the focus is finding solutions to the underlying problems that have seen them fail to win any championship since 2008.
But even when it is clear winning isn’t possible, the pressure from fans and media back in Italy remains higher than on any team on the grid.
Carlos though says he welcomes that intense environment, even if he is a little nervous about it.
“Yes, but I look at it as preparation,” he said. “In the future, if I want to fight for a championship, which I want to, you get that scrutiny and analysis. But I’m also sure once you’re fighting for a championship, the pressure is insane.
“You have to be ready for those kinds of scenarios and I want to be in that kind of scenario. Of course, it’s something that is in my mind, but it’s something I’m willing to go through because it’s what every driver who wants to be world champion needs to go through at some point.
“Since my jump to McLaren, I had more media pressure and then a bit more attention since I signed as Ferrari driver,” he noted.
“Also, when you sign for a team like McLaren or Renault, you get that attention from the English media and French media and it is something that has affected me.
“By now, in my sixth year in Formula 1, I know how to handle these kind of things. The first year in F1 is probably a bit more tricky, everything surprises you, but six years later, you know how everyone is going to react to a bad quali, to a bad lap, to a bad race.
“You just keep your head down, keep thinking about yourself and not get too distracted. Easier said than done.”
In addition to Ferrari’s current predicament performance-wise, Sainz has also decided to join a team which appears firmly set to put its faith in his future teammate Charles Leclerc, leading to suggestions the 25-year-old will be little more than the new No.2.
“I’m aware that I’m going in new and he’s been there for three years there by the time I arrive and he will know the car, know very well the team,” he admitted.
“I’ve been in that situation before. For example, in Renault, when I arrived next to Nico [Hulkenberg]. I know it takes a bit of time before getting to know everyone and how to exploit the full performance of our car and how to build a bit your team and feed yourself into that team. I know what it’s like, I’ve done it before.
“I know it’s not going to be easy, especially with the talent of Charles and how good he’s been doing lately.
“He’s a great competitor, but it’s a challenge that excited me when I signed the deal. It might not be in a long-term contract, but I’m in a mid-term contract, which gives me enough time to get into the team and start from zero with a bit of patience and adapt to the team little by little.”