McLaren F1 Team‘s Carlos Sainz Jr. has stated he is “happy” with the work done by the Woking-based squad, with McLaren showing well as the FIA Formula 1 World Championship heads to Bahrain for round two of the season.
The Spaniard, who had the displeasure of becoming the first retirement of the season in Melbourne, ran well in Bahrain, culminating in him finishing top of F1’s unofficial “class B” category in Free Practice 1.
However, as F1’s tight midfield battle seems to have closed up further, it would prove difficult to hold onto that spot; Sainz finishing the floodlit Free Practice Two session in eleventh, setting a time of 1:30.192, leaving him down on rookie teammate Lando Norris by almost two tenths of a second, as Formula 1 idol Fernando Alonso watched on.
Despite this minor setback, Sainz remained positive on his day, stating “It was a smooth Friday and we could complete our programme without any issues. Overall, the performance looks good and promising.”
Sainz continued to stress that maximising the tools at his disposal would be critical for a good weekend in an increasingly compact midfield.
“Happy with today. We just need to make sure that one timed lap is nailed a bit better to maximise the result in qualifying. Still some margin to improve the car as well so I look forward to tomorrow.”
The Spaniard, however, remained wary on the prospect of his perennial rivals finding more pace around the Sakhir International Circuit, with engine modes at the forefront of his mind.
“But we know that tomorrow the others will turn up their engines, so we have to be cautious there,” Sainz said.
