“We listened to all his radio communications”- Ferrari did elaborative research on Carlos Sainz before appointing him for 2021.
Carlos Sainz gained a new milestone in his career after signing for Ferrari to replace Sebastian Vettel for 2021. Since the end of 2020, the Spaniard has been working at Maranello and would probably give his first on-track appearance for Ferarri next week.
Ferrari confirms seven drivers will test the 2018 SF71H car at Fiorano next week: Sainz, Leclerc, Shwartzman, Armstrong, Alesi, Ilott and Schumacher #F1
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) January 23, 2021
In the latest episode of Beyond the grid, Mattia Binotto revealed that Ferrari did intensive research on Carlos Sainz before signing him. He also checked his radio messages to know how interacts with his team.
“Before we offered him a contract, we listened to all his radio communications to hear how he communicates with his team,” said Binotto. “You could see that the way of communicating tells a lot about the way he handles things, very precisely.
“He is a hard worker, works methodically and is robust. I think those were all aspects that were important to us.” He later clarified that there were other aspects of Sainz, which made him a strong candidate.
“Moreover, he is still young, while he does have years of experience in F1. There is a lot of time for development, and he is not at the end of his career yet,” said the Ferrari chief.
A suitable boy
Last season, Sainz displayed that he has the pedigree to perform for a top team. He is certainly a young driver with years of career ahead of him, while also having a strong experience in Formula 1 by appearing for three different teams- Renault, McLaren and Toro Rosso.
Therefore, with Charles Leclerc being in a similar bracket in terms of experience and youth, Ferrari has purchased an appropriate package in terms of skillset.
But this duo’s viability will only work, if Ferrari provides them with a title worthy car in 2021, unlike in 2020, where their car was nowhere near to challenge even for the third place.
