Carlos Sainz Jr. admitted it had been a “difficult weekend” for Renault Sport Formula One Team after he finished a lap down in eleventh place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard started at the back after a grid penalty for an engine change but the Renault driver struggled all race and found it difficult to get into DRS range to move forward.
“Overall, it’s been a difficult weekend,” said Sainz, who took the engine change and penalty as a result of being eliminated in Q1 on Saturday. “We struggled in sector two today and overtaking was difficult as we couldn’t get into DRS range of the drivers ahead.”
Sainz was knocked out in the first part of qualifying on Saturday and did not improve on Sunday as he said he lacked confidence in his Renault.
“When you lack confidence and balance in the car, it makes things tough at this track,” he said. “We have things to analyse and look into.
“On Friday I was more comfortable with the car, so we have to check what’s happened over the course of the weekend.”
Formula 1 returns next weekend in Italy and Sainz knows the team have to work hard if they are to improve on their performance at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
“We know what we need to improve,” said Sainz, who sits twelfth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, seven points behind Racing Point Force India F1 Team‘s Esteban Ocon heading to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
“We have a couple of days to work hard and get set for Monza.”
