Despite showing good pace at the Japanese GP, Williams Racing’s Carlos Sainz did not score any points in the race. The Spaniard suffered a three-place grid penalty for impeding Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton on his outlap in Qualifying. The stewards’ decision post-session saw Sainz’s grid position consequently fall from P12 to P15.
Sainz’s FW47 showed strong pace in the Japanese GP
In the print media zone, the Williams driver Carlos Sainz revealed that his FW47 had “really good pace” in the Japanese GP.
“I felt like I had really good pace […] Definitely top 10 pace.”
Starting P15, Carlos Sainz unfortunately got stuck in several DRS trains and couldn’t enjoy the full pace of his car. Yet, he managed to take P14 after his only pitstop of the race.
Carlos Sainz blames low grid position for underwhelming result
Reflecting on a relatively poor result on Sunday, the Spanish driver pointed the finger at his low starting position.
“What cost me more today was the grid position.”
The Saturday penalty cost the Spaniard dearly, who ultimately arrived 33.762s behind his teammate Alex Albon.
Sainz compares Suzuka to Monaco, citing limited overtaking opportunities.
Sainz stated that it has become increasingly difficult to overtake in Suzuka’s high-speed corners. Comparing the circuit to Monaco, the Williams Racing driver noted that the similarly limited opportunities for passing hindered his ability to improve during the race.
“When you start 15th on a track like Suzuka that has become a bit of a new Monaco with high-speed corners where you cannot pass, it’s unfortunate.
“We couldn’t move forward.”
Carlos Sainz expects Williams Racing to take steps towards optimized driveability after F1 Japanese GP.
Though Carlos Sainz stated that the F1 Japanese GP was “definitely positive in terms of pace”, he feels that the Williams Racing team and him still need to improve the set-up of the car.
“There [are] still things that I am not happy with.”
Acknowledging that he too can find a margin for improvement, the Spanish driver trusts the team to crucially do their part in enhancing car driveability.
“We are going to [take] some steps on both sides”
Emphatically patient, Sainz expects that he will need more time to fully get a grasp of his new car.
“I’m giving myself the first quarter of the season to understand all this.”
