Carlos Sainz arrived at the Circuit of the Americas paddock probably more rested than his fellow drivers, given that a reliability problem meant he took no part in the Qatar Grand Prix and therefore did not have to deal with the very extreme heat the others had to face. It means the Spaniard is champing at the bit to get out on track for tomorrow’s only free practice session in Austin, as the weekend runs to the Sprint format. “If there was one race to miss, then the one in Lusail was it, given the difficult conditions from a physical point of view,” said the Spaniard. “While I was watching from the garage, I couldn’t help imagining where I would be in the race, with the strategy we had prepared if I had been in the middle of the pack. My rivals have had to recover from it physically, I had to recover my morale.”
Free practice very important. Carlos has a clear idea of what to expect from the weekend ahead. “I think it will once again be a tough race, very close between the teams fighting for second place,” he maintained. “A lot will depend on how we get on in the only free practice session, because if we will have prepared well, then we can expect to fight for a podium finish. I can’t wait to get out on track to check how competitive we are.” The Spaniard said he had no concerns about a repeat of the problem which sidelined him in Qatar. “We have changed a few parts and I’m sure we won’t have any more problems like this.”