Carlos Sainz: The time factor is even more important than experience

      The time shown by Carlos Sainz on the second day of testing in Bahrain at the wheel of Williams remained the best: the Spanish driver completed a lap in 1:29.545. However, he is not inclined to attach special importance to this, as he is not ready to underestimate the results of pre-season tests.

      "I think it's a good start,– Marca newspaper quoted Carlos as saying. – It seems that the efficiency of the FW47 is at an acceptable level, but I don't think we can draw any conclusions based on the lap time. We know that you can drive these cars 5 seconds slower or faster, depending on the amount of fuel in the tank and engine settings.

      So it's not entirely clear how we look compared to the other teams in the middle of the peloton. But at least the car is responding well to my actions, and this is already a step forward compared to last year. I still have a lot of doubts about the optimal settings that I would like to achieve.

      At the same time, I believe that we should earn points right away – this is the task we face in the very first races of the season. As I said at the presentation of our car, the desire to achieve more would be excessive. The FW47 has a number of advantages, but there are also disadvantages, but this has been the case with all the cars I have piloted in the past.

      Of course, it is very different from the Ferrari, they are two completely different cars, because they do not have any common parts. It's in Formula 2, when you change teams, the cars stay the same, but when you switch to another Formula 1 team, you have to deal with a different engine, a different gearbox, a different suspension. A different chassis, a different steering wheel, and even pedals.

      Everything at Williams is new to me, and I need to adapt to it all. But it's impossible to learn all this in one day and a quarter, and from my point of view, the tests in Formula 1 are so short that it's just ridiculous. Of course, the experience gained over 10 years of playing in the championship helps me, but there is one factor that is even more important than experience – the time factor.

      I haven't been driving a Williams for very long, I haven't done enough laps, and before I can fully apply my experience, I have to study this car in detail. I don't know the team well enough either, and I don't know which of the specialists I can trust more, who will help me maximize the potential of the FW47.

      But it's good that there's such a long season ahead, because if you used to have about half of the championship to adapt, now you only have a third. However, I don't know how things will go yet, we'll see.

      I understand that my responsibility is to help the team progress, move forward, and set the direction for development.I came to Williams to win – I want the day to come when it will be possible. But I know that this requires the team to make improvements, so that I can improve my professional skills and learn how to fully realize the potential opportunities provided to me by a team of about a thousand specialists who work at the Grove base."