As Formula 1 heads into the European leg of the 2015 season at the Circuit de Catalunya for the Spanish GP this weekend, Scuderia Toro Rosso are currently sitting in seventh place in the Constructors Championship after a good start to their season after the first four fly-away races.
With two rookie drivers driving their cars this season; Carlos Sainz Jr scored his first points in Formula One at his debut at the Australian Grand Prix and has already racked up six points so far this season and his team mate Max Verstappen has also picked up six points too after becoming the youngest ever driver to score points in the sport at the Malaysian Grand Prix and sadly missed out at the Chinese Grand Prix after his Renault power unit failed during the race.
But this weekend sees Sainz Jr driving in his first home race at the Barcelona circuit and will have the support of his family, friends and the Spanish home crows behind him; even though he knows that he will have to work hard against the challenges the track presents in order to have a successful performance in front of his fans in the race on Sunday.
“Being Spanish, the Spanish Grand Prix will always be the highlight of the year and the most special race of the season for me,” said Sainz Jr.
“I will have family and friends around and obviously, my first Formula 1 race on home soil will be something I will never forget. Barcelona is a track that we know very well, as we completed two of the three pre-season tests there, even though the track temperature will be much higher so the car balance will change completely.
“It will be challenging to see how much of a change there is between winter testing and May, but I’m really looking forward to the weekend ahead and it would be really nice to achieve a good result in front of my home crowd.”
Team mate Verstappen is happy to be back racing in Europe and at a track he has experience of driving on, but highlights the importance of having a good physical preparation over the weekend in order to be successful here.
“This will be the first track on the calendar where I have some experience of driving a Formula 1 car, after the two winter test sessions,” said Verstappen.
It is very physical, quite tough on your body, so as the temperature rises it will be challenging. I always enjoy here and generally, I am looking forward to racing again in Europe.”
