Carlos Sainz

Sainz has signed a two-year McLaren deal after losing his Renault drive to Daniel Ricciardo.<br>The Spaniard contested the final four races of 2017 with Renault before completing the entire 2018 season with the French manufacturer.<br>"Moving to Renault has been a great experience for me and going to a team like McLaren with similar resources is going to help me," said Sainz.<br>"This year of ...

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McLaren has won 182 races and sits only behind Ferrari (235 victories) in the all-time list, but has suffered six winless seasons and not scored a podium since the 2014 opener in Australia.<br>Its 2018 season was blighted by an inherent aerodynamic problem the team claims to have understood for a fresh start in 2019, when Sainz joins alongside Formula 2 graduate Lando Norris.<br>"I want to see ...

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Sainz snuck into the top 10 of the championship by securing his first best-of-the-rest win of the year in Abu Dhabi, in which he finished sixth, but lost other big because of mechanical problems.<br>The 2019 McLaren signing found it painful to miss such results that given how much effort had gone into overcoming early-season difficulties getting on top of things at Renault, which he had only ...

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After a difficult 2018 campaign that was hindered by a fundamental aero problem on the MCL33, McLaren has undertaken a restructuring to help ensure it does not repeat its mistakes in the future. And although the squad was unable to show its progress in understanding the problems on track, Sainz says that the message he has had from McLaren team members is that it knows what steps it needs to ...

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After a difficult 2018 campaign that was hindered by a fundamental aero problem on the MCL33, McLaren has undertaken a restructuring to help ensure it does not repeat its mistakes in the future. And although the squad was unable to show its progress in understanding the problems on track, Sainz says that the message he has had from McLaren team members is that it knows what steps it needs to ...

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The Spaniard and fellow rookie Max Verstappen endured some tense times during their first season in Formula 1, as they knew that the winner of their battle would likely get promotion to the Red Bull team. Despite there being very little to separate the pair in pace terms, it was Verstappen who eventually got to move up - and he took a maiden win on his first outing for Red Bull at the 2016 ...

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The Spaniard and fellow rookie Max Verstappen endured some tense times during their first season in Formula 1, as they knew that the winner of their battle would likely get promotion to the Red Bull team. Despite there being very little to separate the pair in pace terms, it was Verstappen who eventually got to move up - and he took a maiden win on his first outing for Red Bull at the 2016 ...

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With the Spaniard having much more experience than rookie teammate Lando Norris, Sainz knows that the outfit will be relying more him to help give it direction. But rather than be wary about the extra responsibility he will have next year, he says it is exciting and empowering for him. “It feels good, it feels in a way powerful,” he said, when asked by Motorsport.com about if he felt ...

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With the Spaniard having much more experience than rookie teammate Lando Norris, Sainz knows that the outfit will be relying more him to help give it direction. But rather than be wary about the extra responsibility he will have next year, he says it is exciting and empowering for him. “It feels good, it feels in a way powerful,” he said, when asked by Motorsport.com about if he felt ...

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The Spaniard, who is switching to McLaren next season after his former team swooped for Daniel Ricciardo, has revealed that he never fully got on top of why he struggled when it came to extracting the best single-lap pace. "When it comes to finding the limits of the Renault car, it was where I tend to struggle a bit," said Sainz, when asked by Motorsport.com to evaluate his performances this ...

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Sainz was given permission to join McLaren early ahead of racing for the team in 2019, having concluded his Renault campaign in last week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Spaniard had predicted driving in the Abu Dhabi tyre test would give him a vital "head start" on preparations for next season and he completed 150 laps when he appeared on Wednesday. "After the race finished in Abu Dhabi, we've ...

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In his last outing for Renault, Sainz started with a free choice of tyres having qualified 11th, and a marathon 37-lap first stint on ultrasofts saw him climb up the order to beat drivers who had started ahead on hypersofts. Sainz made it clear that it was the perfect way to sign off at Renault and head to his new team. “We’re opening a new chapter with a great result,” he said ...

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The Spaniard has been released by Renault to get his first experience of the MCL33 on Wednesday, while his 2019 teammate Lando Norris will drive on Tuesday. Other drivers who will sample the cars of their future teams for the first time include George Russell (Williams) and Lance Stroll (Racing Point Force India). Kimi Raikkonen is expected to be allowed to drive for Sauber, although it has ...

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Renault’s performance in the United States and the Mexico gave the French manufacturer a welcome boost in a difficult second half of the season and has helped it all-but-cement fourth place in the constructors’ championship. However, after finishing best-of-the-rest behind Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes in the previous two GPs, Renault struggled in Friday practice at Interlagos and ...

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The Spaniard found out over the summer that he was being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo for 2019, but wasted little time in sorting out a deal to switch to McLaren. Although being out of his current outfit could have prompted Sainz to ease off, he says the situation actually helped inspire him to push harder and deliver the four points-scoring finishes he has had since the summer ...

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Sainz finished third behind the two Red Bulls in both FP1 and FP2, outpacing the Ferrari and Mercedes cars that have normally been out of reach for the Renault RS18. And while the Spaniard described the day as “surprisingly good” for his team, he said the midfield picture suggested Renault hadn't suddenly made a major step forward compared to last weekend's race in Austin. “It's very ...

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The 37-year-old two-time F1 champion will not be on the grid next year, and while he has left the door open for a return, he has also stated he's treating his departure as a “goodbye” to grand prix racing. Alonso has endured a difficult time in F1 since re-joining McLaren four years ago, and with wins and podiums out of reach the Spaniard has often struggled to hide his frustration at the ...

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The Pirelli tyre test is the only on-track running between the end of the 2018 campaign and official pre-season testing next February. Current Renault driver Sainz is one of several changing teams next season. Asked by Motorsport.com about the possibility of driving for McLaren in Abu Dhabi, Sainz said: "It's a good opportunity to try this year's car, obviously not next year's, but I'm ...

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Sainz started 11th and ran wide exiting Turn 1, but went on to finish sixth ahead of the Force India and Haas drivers. The Spaniard served his penalty during his pitstop on lap 24 of 56, but it did not cost him any positions. Haas boss Gunther Steiner complained that it took took too long for the stewards to react. “Our team manager will bring it to the Sporting Working Group,” ...

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The Toro Rossos of Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly both made Q3 at Suzuka, but in the race they slipped out of the top 10, while Sainz moved up to 10th to claim the final point. “I think in qualifying, it’s difficult to say,” said Sainz when asked if Honda is now ahead of Renault. “In the race definitely not, I don’t think we’re behind Honda on race pace. "I managed to overtake ...

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The French car manufacturer had been a regular contender at the front of the midfield pack during the first half of the season, but has fallen away in recent races as other teams’ developments have pushed them on. But while some of Renault's struggles are down to the car itself, Sainz thinks that not having introduced an engine upgrade in the second half of the year has hurt. Renault ...

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Renault's shock signing of Ricciardo means Sainz's short spell with the team will end after this season, having initially joined on loan from Red Bull with the intention of making it a longer-term deal. Team boss Abiteboul has now revealed that Renault "pushed massively" to sign Sainz but was blocked by Red Bull, which ultimately allowed Renault to pursue and swoop for Ricciardo. "It is a ... ...

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Sainz and Sirotkin made contact on the opening lap of the Sochi race when the Russian found himself with nowhere to go in his run up to Turn 2, where he was sandwiched between the Renault and the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. Sirotkin ended up hitting the right side of Sainz's car, causing heavy damage to the sidepod and the floor. Sainz continued in the race but struggled for pace, running ... ...

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In the tight battle for fourth place - which also yields a seat on F1’s influential Strategy Group - Renault has 91 points compared with 76 for Haas, while McLaren remains in touch on 58. But Force India, which started again from zero points at the Belgian Grand Prix because of a technicality relating to the team’s change of ownership, is already on 32. The gap might even have been ... ...

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While F1 tyre supplier Pirelli believes that a two-stop strategy is optimal, maintaining track position is vital at street circuits and any multi-stop strategy carries the risk that a driver might get bogged down in traffic. Many teams have expressed a preference for a theoretically slower one-stop strategy - which may only be possible for those starting outside the top 10. Renault's RS18 is ... ...

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