Carlos Sainz Jr. is looking to recover from a troublesome Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with a good showing at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Sainz ran in the top four before spinning in the young stages of the Mexican race, relegating him to the back of the field before he retired on lap 59 with steering troubles.
But the Spaniard, approaching his third race for the Renault Sport Formula One Team, believes that he can break back into the top ten.
“Mexico was difficult, I had a high-speed spin early on in the race which hampered my running.” said Sainz.
“After the last few races, I think we have a car that can be in the top ten. We need to keep both cars on track and aim for points again in Brazil.”
“We need to fightback.”
On the subject of this weekend’s venue, the iconic Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Sainz admitted that it’s not his favourite track on the calendar.
“The track is obviously nice and you can still feel the vibe from Ayrton Senna all around. He’s still very much in people’s hearts, which makes it very special.”
“In actual fact, it’s not a track layout I particularly enjoy, but it’s one of those historical places in Formula 1 where you race. There are a lot of stories in Brazil and lots of championships have been won there.”
“The Brazilian culture is pretty eclectic, and, in terms of food, it’s probably my favourite destination on the calendar.”
Despite that, Sainz enjoyed a good race in Sāo Paulo last year, finishing sixth for Scuderia Toro Rosso, ahead of new team-mate – and Interlagos specialist – Nico Hülkenberg in soaking wet conditions.
“I had a good race there last year and it was one of my most complete Grands Prix.” recalled Sainz.
“I was fifteenth in qualifying – two seconds off the top guys – and suddenly I was racing against them in the rain! We were back alive on race day, we got the strategy right and it paid off.”
