Carlos Sainz Jr. says he adopted a more aggressive stance throughout 2017 in order to capture his move to a manufacturer team for 2018.
Sainz Jr. entered his third campaign with Toro Rosso with his prospects of graduating to Red Bull slim, due to the presence of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
Sainz Jr. held the upper hand against Daniil Kvyat, scoring the bulk of Toro Rosso’s points, and netted a move to Renault for 2018, which came four races earlier than anticipated.
Sainz Jr. explained that Toro Rosso’s grid positions often prompted him to take such a riskier stance than in previous years, but believes that his approach has paid off.
“Definitely this year I’ve been more aggressive,” Sainz Jr. said.
“I needed to be more aggressive to get points, especially as we were not qualifying in the top 10 in Toro Rosso this year.
“We were struggling to get into the top 10, so you had to be a lot more aggressive on Sundays.
“That might have meant I got a couple more retirements than maybe I have wanted, maybe a couple more retirements than in the previous seasons, but I think it’s paid off.
“If you look now as the championship standings and my points with the opportunities I’ve had I think it’s a very positive year.”
Sainz Jr. expanded on his stance, explaining: “If in 2015 I was risking a bit less it’s because I wanted to learn, I wanted to do all the races, I was having a lot of retirements and I wanted to finish races.
“If in 2016 I was still a bit conservative it was because I had a reason to do it and if in 2017 I was more aggressive it’s because I have a reason to do it and because I wanted 2017 to be a special year, to take my opportunities and to make this chance where I am now in Renault to happen.
“I knew that to be in Renault at the end of the year I needed to do some special things to shine a bit more, to risk a bit more, and to get into the top 10 starting from 11th and 12th I knew I had to risk more.”
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