Carlos Sainz: Ferrari recruit says he ‘will never forget’ first test for the F1 team

Carlos Sainz says he will “never forget” his first test for his new Ferrari team on Wednesday.

Sainz, at the wheel of the team’s 2018 car because of Formula 1’s rules restricting testing, said he was “very pleased with how the day unfolded”.

The test was to help Sainz get familiar the team and car’s operations.

The 2018 car contains many of the same technical procedures and systems as the latest car will, and Sainz was able to begin working with the engineers who will support him this season.

“The alarm went off at dawn because we had some very early meetings before going out on track,” the 26-year-old said.

‘Eager to jump in’

“One of the most special moments for me was when I arrived at the circuit and I saw the Ferrari with my number 55 on it!

“I was eager to jump in the car and that first installation lap was exciting.

“We were able to get through an extensive programme and I was able to familiarise myself with the whole set-up: the engineers and mechanics, the steering wheel, the procedures which are obviously a bit different to those on the car I drove last season.”

Sainz’s father, the two-time world rally champion of the same name, was in attendance at the test to watch his son.

Sainz will drive the car again on Thursday morning before Mick Schumacher, a Ferrari academy driver who is making his F1 debut for the affiliated Haas team this year, takes over in the afternoon.

Leclerc ‘getting back in the rhythm’

Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc, who has recovered after catching coronavirus this month, drove the car on Tuesday as part of his preparation work for his third season with the team.

Pre-season testing in March has been limited to just three days – which gives each driver just one and a half days in their cars before the first race – and Leclerc said familiarising himself with the team had been a helpful exercise.

“It is very useful just to get back in the rhythm with procedures that are more or less the same,” Leclerc said. “We changed a few things but overall it is very similar.

“Working with the engineers to try and fine tune the car because this is the same even though there is nobody to race against, we are always trying to find a better way to set up the car so all these things help for the rest of the season.”

Leclerc stayed at Fiorano to watch Sainz complete his first laps and then went to the nearby factory for a seat-fitting in the 2021 car.

Ferrari had their worst season for 30 years in 2020 but team boss Mattia Binotto said before Christmas he expected them to improve in 2021 even though teams have to carry over the monocoque and other key parts of the car as a result of cost-saving rules introduced because of the pandemic.

Despite that, there are a series of new rules on aerodynamics for 2021 aimed at slowing the cars down that amount to a significant design change.

Ferrari have also improved their engine over the winter after it was the worst on the grid last year and Binotto has set the team the target of finishing in the top three in the constructors’ championship.

Pre-season testing is in Bahrain from 12-14 March before the season starts at the same track on 26-28 March.

The Australian Grand Prix, originally planned as the opening race on 21 March, has been postponed until November.

F1 says it is still hopeful of running its full 23-race season this year but new president Stefano Domenicali admitted last week that the sport would have to be “flexible” as a result of the pandemic.