2022 changes remind Sainz of F1’s beauty

Sam Cooper 08 Mar 2022 8:00 AM

Carlos Sainz sat in front of his car. Monaco May 2021. — Carlos Sainz holds his P2 trophy while sat in front of his Ferrari. Monaco May 2021.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has said the 2022 regulations have reminded him of the beauty of the sport as he gets to grips with the F1-75.

The past two seasons have been dark times for Ferrari as instead of their usual position fighting for wins and podiums, they have been battling for midfield spots.

With the 2022 regulations comes a reset and with less than two weeks until the season starts in Bahrain, no team at this stage is truly sure of how they stack up against their rivals.

Of all the teams at the first round of testing in Barcelona, it was perhaps Ferrari who impressed the most. No team completed more laps and Charles Leclerc went quickest on day two.

One of the most striking elements as cars began to be unveiled last month was the difference in design between every team. Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz said that innovation has reminded him of the beauty of the sport.

“We know the work that has been done in a year and a half, there have been things that I have liked and things that I have not. It is what we come to the tests for, to discover things about our car and not stop to think about what the others are doing,” Sainz told AS.

“Everyone has surprised me, because of how different we are from each other when the engineers talked about such restricted regulations.

We are back… and my neck knows it!! 😅

–#essereFerrari #Carlossainzestrell pic.twitter.com/Oa9DvOMWAl

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) March 1, 2022

“It makes you think and it reminds you that F1 is beautiful, I like to see those differences and the imagination of each group of engineers, even if we all reach a similar level later.”

Despite its reliability in Barcelona, Sainz said there is still work to do see how the engine will cope.

“We don’t push everything so it’s hard to feel the differences with a new car,” he said.

“If the engines are going to freeze, you have to find the limit performance and then you have five years to improve reliability. We want the most powerful engine, or one of the most powerful.”

In terms of how the F1-75 feels to drive in comparison to his ride last year, the Spaniard said he noticed it can “slide a little more.”

“It differs in many things, I notice it above all in the driving style. We can slide a little more.

“Before you would slam the wheel and go around the corner, now it seems we can play with the cars a bit more.

“Last year’s cars were designed to go straight. It had a lot of downforce, but when you lost the car, it would go completely off.

“This one does allow you to play a little more with the car in general, at the entrance and exit of corners, and I want to adapt to that, and it’s fun”.

Another thing teams have been forced to adapt to is the ‘porpoising’ effect experienced as a result of changes to the car’s floor.

“It is one of the biggest priorities since we went out on the track and we feel it,” Sainz said.

“We have to work on it and the first one who manages to correct it will be able to lower the heights a little more.

“For the driver it is not comfortable or pleasant at 320km per hour.

“But it’s also the beauty of Formula 1. The teams seem to have everything under control and when new regulations arrive, and new circumstances, it puts us in our place.”