Sainz surprised: 'Then it was completely different again'

Carlos Sainz changed teams several times in recent years. The Spanish driver drove for Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren. Since this season he is driving for Ferrari, where he had to get used to his new car during the opening of the season. Sainz is confident that things will work out.

Whereas his teammate Charles Leclerc performed well immediately in the early stages of the season, Sainz still struggled to find the right set-up in his car. Despite this, the Ferrari driver is only ten points behind his teammate and everything is still open for him.

"When I changed from Toro Rosso to Renault, I thought ‘OK, these two cars are completely different but it’s maybe a one off'," Sainz told The Race. "But then changing from Renault to McLaren it was then completely different again,” said Sainz. “Then, from McLaren to Ferrari was completely different again. So it kept opening up my eyes a bit how different everything is from those four different teams and how much you need to adapt. I guess I have some practice with it."

Sainz, therefore, believes time is needed to fully understand the car. "You just don’t know what is going to suit each track. You probably need years of experience with that car to know that one goes in one direction or the other depending on the circuit."