Sainz: "Preparing for the first GP will go step by step"

Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, Formula 1 drivers have not been in a real F1 car for months. Nevertheless, Carlos Sainz says he will be back to his old level within a handful of laps.

Normally the winter break is the longest period for drivers between Grands Prix. During the winter test they have the opportunity to test their new car for the coming season and then they have to be ready in Melbourne. The period between Grands Prix is now only seven months for the drivers.

Franz Tost therefore thinks it will be a difficult race weekend for the drivers, but Carlos Sainz thinks it won't be a problem. "I think it will take a few laps before you will feel 100% again, but not much", says the driver of McLaren in an Instagram Live interview with Formula1.com.

Step by step to the first Grand Prix

"To really find the limit of an F1 car again? Maybe that costs the first free practice. You go on the track on a set of hard tyres, you push, cool down for a while, you push and then cool down again. Then you put on new tyres and suddenly you go much faster and think: 'oh, now I really feel the G-forces and braking points again'. At that moment my head is completely back in a Formula 1 car. I won't need more than ten laps to get back to 100%", explains the future driver of Ferrari.

However, the Spaniard won't be able to get back into the car immediately from quarantine. Sainz indicates that he will have to prepare well for the Austrian Grand Prix and will talk a lot with his engineers. "I want to go back into the McLaren simulator and test things before the first race, that will bring back adrenaline in my body. Then comes the excitement of qualifying and the race. It will go step by step and I'm really looking forward to it", concludes Sainz.