Sainz after DNS in Qatar: ‘Fuel tank is giving us a bit of a headache’

Carlos Sainz would like to actually compete during the race this weekend at COTA, after he finished with a DNS in Qatar as his fuel tank gave up. The Spaniard commented on what was it like not sitting in the garage during the Qatar Grand Prix and how does Ferrari compare McLaren at the moment.

Sainz hopes that the mechanical failure that happened at the Losail International Circuit will not come back to haunt him again. "We've changed a lot of parts in the car to try and obviously correct the issue that affected us in Qatar. We are also trying to find solutions in the long term, not only in the short term, because it's definitely something that we are not happy with and we've also had issues in the past. This fuel tank is giving us a bit of a headache now and then, but we will try and put it back together this weekend and hopefully shouldn't be any issues anytime soon."

Sainz, who has built a reputation for being a strategist for himself from his car, also explained what he did during the Grand Prix. "I was an interested observer, but I was constantly looking at where I would have been. The brain is always going to this race trace and saying, ‘I would have been here with my strategy, I would have tried to do this, this’, and then you just realise that it's not worth it because you get even more frustrated and you start thinking, what if, what if, what if? It was frustrating from a driver's perspective to watch the race from the barriers, but it's how it goes."

He added: "Hopefully, it looks like we will get a bit of a heat experience also here in Austin. I love this track. I love how this place comes alive on Saturday, and Sunday with the fans and how cool it is to drive it. I'll hopefully forget Qatar soon."

'McLaren will beat us in most of the remaining races'

Sainz’s ex-team, McLaren, are on the rise at the moment, which was also noted by the Ferrari driver. "I think they're going to beat us in most of our races from here to the end of the season if all things align, because they do have a very quick car nowadays, and they look to be the only ones that can sometimes bother Red Bull, unless we are at a track like Singapore, where maybe it's more us."

He also explained that he and Norris have already talked about how they would compare this weekend. "I was playing golf yesterday with Lando, and we were discussing whether they would be ahead this weekend."

However, the Spaniard is also positive Ferrari will be able to stay ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. "I think if we don't have any other DNS or DNFs, I think we should be able to keep them behind."