Sainz Looks Back At 'Bitter' Finish Of 2023 Season

Wednesday, 10 January 2024 at 03:00

Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz discussed the second half of the 2023 Formula One season in his recent interview.

After an unsuccessful start to the 2023 season due to an uncompetitive car, Carlos Sainz couldn't score a single podium during the first half. However, he returned much stronger after the second break.

The Spanish driver mentioned he was overall satisfied with his most recent year in F1 and mainly with the last 11 races. He told as.com:

"My season has been solid. Although it didn't end the way I would have liked after a second half of the season in which it was going very well."

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After the summer break, the 29-year-old scored two consecutive pole positions at Monza and Singapore, both of which led to the podium. Moreover, as the only driver in 2023 outside of Red Bull, he managed to turn his great starting position into a win in Singapore.

"But it has been solid, the team has made great progress and we have fought for more important things. That makes me proud, the team is taking steps forward, and if we manage to take another one in 2024, we will be in the fight."

Ferrari, along with McLaren, made a visible step forward in the second part of the season to the point where the Italian team almost beat Red Bull during the penultimate race of the season in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, Sainz wasn't able to compete for the podium during the race in Sin City due to an unfortunate chain of events that set him back ten positions on the starting grid .

Going into the last race of the season, Ferrari needed a strong performance in order to overtake Mercedes for second place in the Constructor's Championship.

However, Abu Dhabi definitely was not the Spaniard's best weekend of the season, as he crashed out in Free Practice and then lacked performance throughout the whole weekend.

In the end, the 29-year-old didn't even finish in the top ten, and Ferrari lost the second place in the Championship by a mere three points. Sainz added:

"The taste of the end of the season is bitter, but I forget quickly and focus on next year. Finishing fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh one year does not change your life."