Carlos Sainz Jr: “I think we can keep up the good work”

Carlos Sainz says he’s learned a lot from a busy Australian GP that saw him eventually finish ninth, despite a delay of over 30s in his pit stop.

The Spaniard, who also survived first corner contact, lost several positions when the team had trouble with the left rear corner.

“I’ve learned everything,” he said. “They put a lot of problems in front of me in this first race, 58 laps without a single rest, and with all that to finish ninth we have to be positive. I just look forward to Malaysia, because I think we can keep up the good work.”

Sainz admitted the pit stop delay was hugely frustrating.

“It was a tough moment, for us, for the whole team, not only for me. We were in a very good position, we were fighting a Red Bull, which was our target. We were doing a great job, all of us, until that point onwards all the race changed, and it was just a matter of bringing it home without problems. We struggled a lot with fuel consumption and everything. It was a shame because to be honest we couldn’t fight much for a position, we were very limited down the straights as we expected.”

Regarding his first corner contact he said: “It was a bit of a shame, because I did a great start, and was maybe a bit too optimistic into Turn One. But lesson learned, and we turn the page and go forward.”