Carlos Sainz was in great form as he arrived in the Lusail paddock, having recently taken part in the Ryder Cup all-stars match in Rome. “I had a lot of fun, I love golf and to be able to meet so many of its stars was very special,” he said. “It helped me recharge my batteries after the Singapore-Japan double-header and now I’m ready to do my best here in Qatar.”
Aiming for consistent performance. The Spaniard admitted he had not expected it to be so hot. “I remembered very hot days and cooler evenings, but at this time of year, it stays hot even at night and the humidity level is very high. But it’s the same for everyone and we are set to fight on equal terms from a physical point of view. I like the format,” continued Carlos, referring to the Sprint. “Even if undoubtedly, in this case it’s an added challenge given that we only have one hour of free practice to get to grips with a track where we have only raced once before and which has been resurfaced and the kerbs have been changed. There are many unknowns and not much time to prepare, so teamwork will make the difference. In recent races, we managed to have pretty consistent performance, making no mistakes and with a great execution. We must continue like that this weekend, even if, on paper, this track does not seem that well suited to our package. Let’s see how it goes once we hit the track.”