Carlos Sainz was on the panel of the first press conference following the break and the Spaniard assured everyone he was ready for a combative second part of the season. “I spent time with the family, at the seaside and playing golf, but I’m happy to be back on track, because we have three really busy months ahead of us and I can’t wait to start.”
A lot of work to do. When asked what reason there could be to push hard in a season when another team is so dominant, the Spaniard had this to say: “If you are driver, the motivation is always there. It’s clear this season that one team, in fact one driver, is dominant. But for those of us in the cockpit, winning is not the only thing at every race. If you can’t fight for that, then you can do it for a podium, or if not a podium then a top-5 finish. Besides that, as a driver you want to see what you can do to affect progress that can be made on the car you are driving. In short, I really don’t lack motivation, because we are the first to love what we do.”
Very evenly matched. Looking ahead to this weekend, Sainz has a clear picture of what awaits him. The track is short and twisty which has pluses and minuses. A lot depends on qualifying. If you can do well on Saturday, then on a track where overtaking is very difficult, you might be able to maintain your good starting position all the way to the chequered flag. But if you start further back, you definitely face a tough Sunday, because there really are very few straight sections here. As usual, but here even more so than in Belgium, it will be vital not to make any mistakes in order to get the most out of our car. We are ready to fight tooth and nail.”