Carlos Sainz joined Ferrari in 2021 after spending the previous two years with McLaren. Over at Woking, he showed everyone how valuable he is to a team, mainly because of his consistency, which brought in strong results for himself and the team. 2020 in particular, was a great year for Sainz where he along with Lando Norris guided McLaren to a P3 finish in the Constructors’ Standings.
His debut campaign for Ferrari was also very impressive, where his consistent performances allowed him to finish in P5, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. 2022, however, was a completely different story for the Spaniard.
Ferrari returned to winning ways once again in 2022, after an underwhelming last two years. While Leclerc rose up to the challenge of competing for the Title for the first time in his career, Sainz struggled to match him. It took the 27-year-old a lot of time to get up to speed with the F1-75, which was arguably the strongest car Sainz has ever driven in F1.
Carlos Sainz aims to win races regularly in 2023
2022 may have been difficult for Sainz, but it also presented him with his biggest-ever moment in F1. The Madrid-born driver has been a regular feature in the paddock since 2015 but finally won his first F1 race at Silverstone in July. Now that he has achieved that milestone, Sainz wants to focus on making winning races a more regular occurrence.
CARLOS SAINZ WINS THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX 🏆
His first ever F1 win! #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/wFUwrBpQZl
— Silverstone (@SilverstoneUK) July 3, 2022
“My goal is to be consistent,” he said as quoted by Autosport. “I have had many highs and lows. For next year, hopefully, there will be fewer low points and many high peaks to be able to have a more linear season. To win races, I already know what it is, but if you want to fight for the world championship, you have to be consistent.”
Sainz’s race is run ❌
The damage to his car in the contact with Russell at Turn 1 has forced his retirement #USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/k8wdBFsjhe
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2022
Sainz also rued the number of retirements he had in 2022 due to his mistakes as well as mechanical issues. The Ferrari driver is optimistic about this not being a regular occurrence in 2023, as he aims to fight for the World Championship for the first time in his career. Sainz recognizes that to cope with the pressure of driving for the biggest team in F1 history, he has to consistently perform at a high level.