Carlos Sainz Jr. was left slightly frustrated to see the final day of pre-season testing disrupted by a gearbox issue, with only four installation laps completed in the morning session as a result.
It was late in the day before the Renault Sport Formula One Team racer returned to the track, and he was able to complete forty-five laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with his best time of 1:18.092s good enough to see the Spaniard third fastest on the day.
Sainz insists that the difficult final day cannot overshadow the positive pre-season testing programme the Enstone-based team has enjoyed, and they can go into the Australian Grand Prix at the end of the month with some confidence.
“Most of the day was frustrating for me and the team, but this doesn’t cloud what was a productive week of testing in Barcelona,” said Sainz. “For the final couple of hours we were able to conduct some performance work with the softer tyres and the car did feel decent.
“In a way, it’s good that we had the problem we did today, rather than during the season when it could hurt us more. I’m feeling positive ahead of the start of the season and I can’t wait to get to Albert Park.”
