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Williams’ Carlos Sainz has opened up on the ‘best race’ of his F1 career so far, and it isn’t one of his four Grand Prix victories for the famous Scuderia Ferrari.
Since breaking through with Renault following his days at Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz has cemented himself as one of the most talented drivers on the F1 grid.
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His subsequent move to McLaren, before becoming a Grand Prix winner at Ferrari, showcased why he was deserving of a top drive in the sport, before unfortunate circumstances were put on top of the Spaniard, and he was ousted from his seat at Maranello.
Now plying his trade at the Grove-based outfit, Sainz continues to remind everybody why he is one of the most intelligent drivers out there with his split-second strategy decisions and inch-perfect racecraft.
Carlos Sainz recalls the ‘best race’ of his F1 career at the 2019 Brazilian GP
Speaking in an interview with People magazine, Sainz was given a series of images in which he was asked to describe what was happening to him at that point in his career.
The second image he was given featured him celebrating on the Sao Paulo podium in 2019 – his first top-three finish in the sport. He then went on to reveal that he holds the feat in very high regard, naming it as the ‘best race’ of his career to date.
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“That’s actually my first podium in McLaren, in 2019,” he said as he looked at the photo for the first time. “It came the day that I expected it the least because I was starting last in this race. The day before, I couldn’t even contest in qualifying.”
Sainz was unable to set a single lap during Saturday’s shootout that weekend, having suffered a power unit failure on his very first out-lap in Q1. As a result, he was forced to start the Grand Prix from the very back of the grid, in P20.
“I just thought, ‘I’m starting last. If I can get into the top 10, that will be a great comeback,’” he continued. “But I never expected to go all the way from last to third. It was the best race of my career, with a lot of good overtaking.
“I had the mindset of ‘nothing to lose.’ This race taught me that I should apply that mindset more often. I think that’s one of the best feelings when you know you’re doing a good race and have the confidence to do overtaking at 200 miles per hour.
“That’s the kind of flow state that, for every driver or every athlete, you want to go into. You’re chasing that flow state.”
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