Carlos Sainz says he is still “not 100 per cent at home” with the nuances of Ferrari’s SF21, despite taking a third podium of the year in Russia.
Sainz is on the longest points streak of any driver in the field and scored a third podium since joining Ferrari at the most recent event in Russia.
Sainz’s performance came on a weekend in which he led from the front row of the grid as he added to previous podium results in Monaco and Hungary.
But the Spaniard’s performance has fluctuated in recent events, with subdued performances in the Netherlands and Italy coming in the wake of practice crashes at both rounds.
He also went off during qualifying in Hungary though attributed that incident to a sudden gust of wind.
“I think we’ve used our opportunities to score those three podiums,” said Sainz.
“I guess you guys have seen it from the outside that I am not still 100 per cent at home with the car.
“I don’t want to bring back the crashes, but I’ve never crashed in my career. I’m a driver that never puts it in the wall, but for some reason, there have been a few crashes that show that I still don’t fully 100 per cent understand the car.”
Sainz suggested that an altered approach through the weekend in Russia yielded dividends while also highlighting Ferrari’s improved performance as a team.
“I made a conscious effort also to take it step by step, through free practice, into qualy, and be fast really when I need to be fast instead of being fast straight away in FP1,” he said.
“And it has worked well, it has given me a good confidence, and I’ve been quick all weekend and I’ve been feeling at home.
“The podiums, as I said, we just maximised the opportunities that we got. It’s a good signal, a signal that the team under pressure and in the right moments, we are performing well and we are getting the results whenever the chances are coming.”
