Carlos Sainz: I see no reason for optimism.

      On Thursday Carlos Sainz arrived at the Zandvoort paddock late because he got stuck for a long time in local traffic on the way to the circuit. But in the end he still managed to speak to the press, and the main points the Spanish Williams driver thought worth highlighting were as follows: the first half of the season was very difficult psychologically, and he sees no reason for optimism.

      Carlos Sainz: "You shouldn't underestimate the difficulties you face when you change teams. It's associated with a heavy workload: in January and February I had to spend a lot of time on the road because I had to be at the Grove base often and work on the simulator.

      All of this is somewhat more complicated than when you are dealing with a team you've worked with for three or four years. So the August break was necessary, although the weekend in Hungary went reasonably well and now we have to try to build on that.

      Although it's possible that the Zandvoort track does not suit our car very well. However, the level of expectations changes depending on who you talk to. The team is optimistic because it has achieved certain results here. Truth is, it's hard for me to understand how it managed to do that, given the nature of the circuit and the layout of the corners.

      The way the races in Barcelona, Austria and Hungary went is not very inspiring, yet at the Grove base they treat the Netherlands almost as the promised land. Personally I don't see reasons for optimism, although Williams managed three years in a row to make it into the qualifying finals here, and the car seemed quite competitive.

      But I don't know by what means. I need to figure that out, and I still hope that this successful run will continue, because we really need good results.

      From the very start of the year I showed good pace, it was just that there were no results. So it was important for me to reset, to start looking at things more positively and leave all the unpleasant experiences behind."

      During the summer break Carlos continued to train, and among other things to stay in good shape he played golf with his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., and with Spanish and world tennis star Rafael Nadal, who retired last year.

      "Everyone was focused on the result, so we didn't talk much," the Williams driver said. "But I hope that someday we will sit down to talk about mental toughness, about the approaches he used when fighting on court. He is one of those athletes I admire."

      Carlos pays serious attention to cycling training and during the summer break he had the chance to ride with Tadej Pogačar, the well-known Slovenian cyclist and four-time Tour de France winner.

      Here's how he summed up the experience: "It wasn't me riding with him, it was him riding with me. For two hours I was putting out 80%, while for him that was only 10% of his capabilities. Although I'm in good shape and generally a fairly trained cyclist, which shows how hard all of this is."