Sainz completed his busiest winter of his career
Ahead of his first season with Williams, four-time F1 race winner Carlos Sainz has revealed that he has performed the most condensed winter preparation of his F1 career, but he still needs to discover the characteristics of his new car.
The Spanish driver made the switch from Ferrari to the Grove-based squad over the winter and headlined the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, finishing top after a full day of running.
Speaking about the situation to F1TV, Sainz has revealed that he is yet to find comfort in his car, and that was the reason for him to conduct performance runs in low-fuel configuration.
"In terms of driving style, I'm still understanding what I need to do with this car to go quick, because, if I'm honest, I'm still a bit lost as to where to find the lap time.
"I don't know if it's gonna come on entries, it's gonna come on exits, minimum speeds. And that's why [that] run was important for me to understand where the lap time is coming from," the four-time grand prix winner said.
"I feel like when I push it, I can get to a decent level, but I still don't know where the last two tenths of the car are."
Commenting on the integration into the sport's second most successful team, the four-time F1 race winner said that he has had his busiest winter, but he was positively surprised by his new team-mate Alex Albon.
"It's been a very busy winter for me, January and February I spent a lot of time in Grove meeting people. Probably the busiest winter of my career, but I think I've done some good homework and am as prepared as I can be after one and a half days of testing.
"The team from the beginning surprised me, I saw a team full of motivation and full of drive to move themselves forward.
"Alex honestly is one of the best guys I have come across in Formula 1. He is incredibly talented, but also a really good human being. The feedback that he gives, that he has given me about the team, the car, how the team operates - that's exactly the type of relationship and the type of team mate I need. We are going to push flat out this season."
