MADRID, 10 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) confessed this Friday that “with a bit of luck” he could have won the Monaco Grand Prix, where he was finally second, but that he is clear that “to win in Formula 1 everything has to fall from your side”.
“To win a race in F-1, everything has to fall on your side and all the details are in order. In Monaco, things did not fall on my side, but I am confident that I drove well and with a bit of luck. I would have won,” said Sainz at the press conference prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The man from Madrid acknowledged that “with the benefit of hindsight” he is clear that they would have done “different things” on Sunday in Monte Carlo, although “not so much” on his part as on his ‘box’. “We had the race pretty clear, we hit the nail on the head with the strategy and I was leading before everyone put on the slicks,” he said.
“I think the strategy was correct and then there were details like the stop and getting stuck behind Latifi cost me the victory. It could have been done differently, but looking back, stopping a lap earlier would have given me more margin with ‘Checo’ (Pérez ), but a different traffic, and I would have done it one later, ‘Checo’ could have done the ‘undercut’,” he added.
About this weekend, Sainz admitted that they must “find the balance” in their ‘F1-75’, but that you can “get a good result by being faster on the straights or in the corners” and that the lap time ” It’s going to be the same with high or low downforce.
“You have to choose one, make sure with your instinct and have a car that gives you confidence when braking and because getting close to the walls is a challenge for the drivers and for the teams when it comes to the configuration. I enjoy when I come here”, stressed the fifth place in the World Cup.
Asked about his time at Red Bull, at Toro Rosso, and as a result of the renewal of Sergio Pérez that has closed the doors to the Frenchman Pierre Gasly, as it could have happened to him at some point, Sainz recalled that “it was not easy”, but that he should “thank them” because he is the one who has allowed them to be in F-1.
“Pierre is where I was and maybe it cost me a couple of bad moments with Red Bullo, but now I have a good relationship with Christian (Horner) and Helmut (Marko) and I only have words of thanks. I can understand both positions. Pierre is a good driver who always performs and it is normal that he has high expectations and wants to find a place where he can fight for races and pole positions,” he said.
