Carlos Sainz Jr. hopes to put the disappointment of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend behind him at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza this weekend, with the Spaniard unable to start the race at Spa-Francorchamps due to a mechanical issue.
The McLaren F1 Team driver says its been frustrating to miss out on a lot of points this year due to various problems, but he is happy that he has a race this weekend to quickly make amends for missing out in Belgium.
Sainz says the Monza circuit should host an exciting race, and he hopes the team can maximise its performance so to bring home a good number of points.
“After the race in Barcelona I was hoping for another clean weekend at Spa, but unfortunately I couldn’t even start the race on Sunday,” said Sainz. “It’s very frustrating to look back and see all the points I’ve missed this season due to different problems, but I prefer to look forward and invest all my energy in the challenges and races ahead.
“I’m feeling good in the car and I’m sure my luck will eventually turn around if we keep focused and keep working hard. Luckily, I don’t have long to wait to get back in the car, as we head straight to Monza for the start of an Italian double-header.
“The high-speed characteristics of the circuit usually offer opportunities to overtake, especially into the first chicane, so we should be in for an exciting race. I’ve been working alongside the team these past few days to make sure we can maximise the performance of the car.”
“Monza is one of the more exciting circuits on the calendar” – Lando Norris
Team-mate Lando Norris says he is eager to keep up the momentum on his side of the garage after a seventh-place finish in Belgium, particularly with how close the Constructors’ Championship is between third place and sixth.
The Renault DP World F1 Team’s fourth and fifth place finish in Belgium has moved them to within nine points of McLaren’s third place in the Constructors’ standings, with the BWT Racing Point Formula One Team and Scuderia Ferrari in between them.
Norris says Monza offers a lot of opportunities to overtake and battle for position, and he is eager to get the weekend underway on Friday morning.
“We’ve had a positive start to this triple-header and now we head to Italy where we’ll try to keep up that momentum,” said Norris. “The competition is extremely tight in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships, so we know that missing opportunities for points can have a big impact on those standings.
“We’ll be doing everything we can to build on P3 and P6 respectively. Monza is one of the more exciting circuits on the calendar with plenty of opportunities to battle for position, and I’m looking forward to getting out on track come FP1.”
“Our strategy, operations and performance need to be at consistently high levels” – Andreas Seidl
Andreas Seidl, the Team Principal of McLaren, says the team are ready to resume their fight for third place in the Constructors’ Championship this weekend in Italy, and they are eager to put behind them the mixed bag of results they achieved in Belgium.
Seidl says it is important the team extract everything they can from the MCL35 if they are to continue holding down the third place in the standings, with the need to keep everything running at ‘consistently high levels.’
“We move on to Monza with the mixed emotions of the Belgian Grand Prix put behind us, ready to fight again at the ‘temple of speed’,” said Seidl. “As ever with these triple-headers, a lot of pressure is placed on the team to make sure we’re prepared for the next race.
“The unique high-speed Monza circuit, will make it necessary to bring a low-downforce package again. It’s up to us in the race team to extract the maximum performance from the car in what will be a tight battle for strong points finishes.
“The intensity in the midfield is keeping us sharply focused on the task at hand. We’re aware that one bad race can drop a team from third in the Constructors’ Championship to sixth, so our strategy, operations and performance need to be at consistently high levels. With the narrow performance gap between four or five teams, we should be in for an exciting and enjoyable race.”
