Carlos Sainz Jr goes into his second Monaco Grand Prix with the Scuderia Toro Rosso team this weekend, and reveals that the circuit is one of his favourites on the Formula 1 calendar.
The Spaniard insists the whole weekend around the street circuit at the Principality of Monaco is a challenge, and pin points the sequence of corners between turns twelve, thirteen and fourteen as his favourites of the track.
Sainz secured a point on his first appearance at Monaco back in 2015, and after his best result of his Formula 1 career last time at the Circuit de Catalunya, will be looking for another strong performance this weekend.
“Monaco is one of my favourite tracks because it’s so special – not only for me, but for all drivers,” said Sainz. “It’s such an exciting and challenging race weekend!
“Turn 1, especially at the start of the race, is very tight and only one car at a time can go through there, so it’s easy to see massive traffic jams there if you start from the middle or back of the grid – sometimes you nearly need to stop the car at that first corner.
“Turns 3 and 4 are probably the most glamorous corners of the Championship, as we go past the casino and the Café de Paris. It’s a very special feeling to drive through here the first time, as well as it being one of the most challenging parts of the track.
“Turns 5, 6, 7 and 8 I’d call the slow part of the track, with Turn 6 being the slowest of the whole season – it’s done in first gear and full steering lock. Then it’s flat out through the tunnel, even though it’s always a challenge to go flat out during the first lap of the weekend in FP1… You always want to do it but then you end up doing a small lift just to be safe, waiting for your confidence to build up!
“Turn 10 is the bumpiest corner and braking of the calendar I’d say – you just need to check my onboard from last year’s race with Ericsson to see what I mean! Turns 12, 13 and 14 are the fastest and nicest corners – this is my favourite part of the track and I can’t wait to be racing there again this weekend!”
