At some point in life everyone has to go through it: Carlos Sainz had to deal with the news of his grandfather’s death this week. The Spaniard is all the more motivated to honor him with the first podium finish in a main race of the 2023 Formula 1 season. In the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring, he was already on the podium in third place, but he still lacks that in the Grand Prix.
“For me personally, of course, it would be very special to dedicate a podium finish or a win to my grandfather, who passed away last week. But yes, it will depend on how the car is and how we can have a good weekend here,” says the 28-year-old.
It should not fail because of his personal relationship with the Hungaroring: “I love him. I always enjoy driving here. I love the atmosphere. I love the track. It always has a good flow. And hopefully it suits my car and we have a good weekend. That would be at the top of my wish list.”
But like every weekend, the balance of power beyond the superior Max Verstappen has to be reassessed: “Behind Red Bull and Max, the teams are extremely close together. It’s very close between Mercedes, us, Aston Martin, now McLaren, let’s see if Alpine comes along or not. But it’s very, very close.”
“One weekend you’re a tenth ahead, the other a tenth behind. That’s a difference of just two tenths of a second. But that has a very big impact.”
So you can look forward to a podium finish on a race weekend. “And next weekend you’re seventh and eighth. The change in results is huge, although the relative difference in performance isn’t that big.”
“It’s just that the track suits you better or McLaren or Aston or Mercedes. It’s important not to overreact and just know that there will be good weekends and less good weekends.”
And what about Budapest? “Hopefully a bit better. We all hope that the Hungaroring suits us a little better. But everything depends on the weather here too. Unfortunately, our car is very dependent on the track temperature. It depends a lot on the wind conditions.”
“We know we have some weaknesses that make us vulnerable, but if the conditions are good for our car we should be relatively strong here.”