Sainz Discusses the Challenges of Joining a New Team

Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz, who has recently joined Ferrari, shares his understanding as to why seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is finding it difficult to adapt to his new squad. The shift from Williams to Mercedes for Hamilton has been challenging, with Charles Leclerc consistently outperforming him so far this season.

The Learning Curve in a New Team

Sainz himself experienced similar struggles when he joined Alex Albon at Williams last year. It was only during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix that Sainz managed to beat his teammate for the first time. This experience, according to Sainz, is not surprising as adapting to a new team takes time.

Sainz explained, “I’m not surprised at all. I expected it for myself and I expected it with him.” He believes that when you are up against two teammates like Williams and Ferrari, they know the team inside out and are already performing at their maximum. Therefore, it is impossible to suddenly be quicker by a few tenths of a second.

Sainz further elaborated on the reasons for this learning curve, stating that there are “15 things that you have to relearn.” He mentioned the variety in adjusting the car to achieve similar lap times and the process of finding what works best for the car and the driver’s style.

Sainz admitted that he has not yet had his “eureka moment” with Ferrari, but warned that it may take more than six months to fully adapt. He emphasized that knowing a car well requires at least half a year to a year of experience. However, this does not mean that performance cannot be achieved during that period.