“It had to happen one day or another”, assures Sainz after his first victory

by time news

Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari), 27, won his first Formula 1 victory on Sunday at the British Grand Prix.

Since 2015 and your arrival in F1, you dream of this victory. Does the reality live up to this dream?
Carlos Sainz Jr: I haven’t realized it yet, I think, I’m very happy, but I’m waiting for the minutes to pass to realize what really happened today. Winning my first race in front of this incredible crowd, with Ferrari, at Silverstone, one of my favorite circuits, is incredible. It wasn’t easy at all, but it happened and I fought for it. It had to happen one day or another, and it happened today (…) Silverstone is a special place for me. My first victory in Formula BMW, in 2010, is here. First pole position here, in 2000. And then suddenly, 12 years later, I achieved exactly the same thing, but in Formula 1 with Ferrari. So it’s a special place for me and I thank the whole crowd for being there and cheering me on.

You had a lot to deal with during the race. Was it difficult to keep a clear mind as the rounds went on?
Yes, without a doubt. It was probably, mentally, one of the most difficult races, because there was so much being said on the radio; we had to try to manage the gap with Charles (Leclerc, his teammate) and Lewis (Hamilton) at the same time. At the beginning, with Max (Verstappen), there was also a hell of a struggle. I was not completely comfortable with the car. I had a lot of trouble with understeer in high speed corners (…) but I kept my cool, I kept believing (…). And suddenly, when the opportunity presented itself, I took it and it happened.

After a weekend like this – the first pole position of your F1 career yesterday, then the victory today – how do you analyze the last few days and how do you view the Austrian GP next week? ?
This weekend I was very fast in free practice 2 (Friday) and I felt like I had the pace to win a race this weekend. But for some reason I struggled in the race… Already in free practice 3 (Saturday) I struggled much more. And during the race I still struggled (…), maybe today I lacked a bit of front end, but hopefully for Austria we can refine it and maybe that we can fight for this victory again.

Statements taken at a press conference

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