F1 News
Carlos Sainz: First half of season hasn’t been “straightforward”
Carlos Sainz has said that the first half of the 2019 season with McLaren has not been “straightforward” after scoring eight podiums and being seventh in the drivers’ standings with the team fourth behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
McLaren have had their best first half of a season for a long time thanks to a decent performing car with a Renault engine and its drivers Sainz and rookie Lando Norris cementing them in fourth place in the constructor’s championship.
At the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break Sainz made it two consecutive P5 finishes in a row ending up with 58 points, five behind Pierre Gasly.
But the Spaniard insists that it hasn’t been easy for the team due to reliability concerns at the start of the season.
Sainz said (quoted by GPToday.net): "If you add that my first failure came ten laps into the first race of the season, then that's part of the unlucky situation and the penalties that I had to take in Austria.
"We managed to recover well with an eighth-place finish.
"It hasn't been an easy, straightforward first half to the season. There has been very little time when we have been the fourth fastest car.
“We've had to make our way through on race days and it has made the season interesting and particularly good on Sundays.
"But at the same time, I feel like the race team is performing at a very high level, with strategy and preparation.
“I'm performing well on Sundays and so in the end, we keep bringing in points, that's the main thing."
Sainz was also adamant that it was “important” for the Spanish GP to stay on the calendar to race in front of his home fans.
"For me, it's incredibly important if it manages to stay," Sainz added.
"The rumour that I have heard is the same, that it is a one-year extension, but nothing confirmed beyond that.
"What I really expect and hope is that this one-year extension allows for a longer deal, if it happens, if the rumour is true. But at the moment it is only rumours."
