Carlos Sainz says he trusts the FIA safety standards, but meanwhile the alarm has sounded. The Ferrari driver made no secret of his fear of what could happen to Jeddah in the event of an accident. The barriers are on the track and the travel speeds will be impressive, so the reaction times for those who follow risk being almost equal to zero for those who arrive at the scene of a crash. Obviously, the Spaniard hopes to be proved wrong by the facts, but there is a minimum of apprehension.
What are your feelings on this track? Is there a concern that something big might happen in the event of an accident?
“It’s a good observation. Obviously, as a driver, you try not to think too much about these things and to rely completely on the FIA standards, which are normally good. The only thing we have talked about among us drivers is that, if one car that is 3 “in front of you has an accident, there is no time to react, because we are above 250 km / h in every curve and we cannot see through the walls. This is the only big point to raise with the FIA, which will have to be very careful with the yellow flags, the safety cars and the red flags. “
Even in qualifying it won’t be easy not to get in the way …
“Hopefully it doesn’t happen too often. There is no need to go too slow in those high-speed corners, because the speed differential risks being very high in a cooling lap. As I mentioned, we have to rely on the measurements. safety measures implemented by the FIA and hope that they have done their homework correctly, because the track seems challenging and completely different from what we are normally used to. “
Are you surprised that a circuit of this type, with practically no escape route, could be used by Formula 1?
“I like modern circuits, which have an escape route, but maybe not asphalt. I like grass or gravel. It’s nice to have street circuits too, but they have to be 3-4 all The basis of Formula 1, however, must be those circuits where you can bring out the full potential of the car, but safely and without taking advantage of going off the track. I think as drivers we are quite clear about what we want. This looks a bit like an experiment, a high-speed track with walls: I just hope that obviously everything is safe and that there are no surprises “.
Do you like the idea of focusing on the battle for third place?
“We had some good races, especially because we were consistent. For me this is a great thing. When I joined the team at the start of the season, I felt we had to make progress on this, on strategy and on tire management. races were very difficult in that sense, but then I think we made some great progress. The car has improved, but not in an exaggerated way, but you can see that we manage to be much more consistent in the race. It also helps that I now know the team is better and in fact I’m getting more points. But it was nice to see the team evolve and build his confidence. “
Your trajectory is growing: does this give you confidence for the next year?
“It’s an injection of confidence because, in my humble opinion, McLaren are one of the best teams in managing the race. And the fight between us and them was very close, with cars with very similar potential. Maybe they don’t have the best car right now, but they are a winning team and they proved it in Monza. When I came to Ferrari, one of my goals was to play with McLaren and we managed to do it quite often. We improved a lot since the start of the season. year and it’s good to see progress. “
Were you more satisfied with 2019 or this year?
“Honestly of both. It’s difficult to choose one. But 2020 was also a good year. They are already fighting with Leclerc and Norris for fifth place in the World Championship, in their first year in a new team, while they are in third and I know they are two very good drivers. This means that mine was a good season and now I will try to get fifth place. If I don’t, it won’t be a drama, because it’s only fifth place, but it was a good season nonetheless. “.
What is the feeling in the simulator with the 2022 car?
“It’s definitely getting faster every time I try it. That’s good news, because every time I go to the factory I find it easier to drive and it means development is going in a good direction. Last week I went through a full day on the simulator and it was very productive, so I’m looking forward to continuing to develop it. “
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