Carlos Sainz perplexed with the dark patch which ended his F1 2023 season when usually end of the year is his forte.
Having had a good run in the second half of F1 2023 where he won Singapore GP, Ferrari’s Sainz did not have a sound end to his campaign with two crashes in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. The former wasn’t under his control but it did set him back.
Even though there was good pace to be on the podium, Sainz had to settle for points finish in a recovery drive. The grand prix in Abu Dhabi could easily be his worst of 2023 as he just did not have pace, whether in qualifying and or the race itself.
This was a end that Sainz did not expect considering that he usually picks up pace as the season progresses but it wasn’t the case in 2023. He feels it put a dark patch to an otherwise a good enough year where he was neck and neck with Charles Leclerc.
“The last two weekends didn’t go as I expected, or like we wanted to finish the year,” said Sainz to media. “Honestly, very disappointed and, obviously, not happy given how close it was in the end in the constructors’ championship. The pace in Abu Dhabi and overall feeling with the car wasn’t good. Overall, I think it’s been a decent year for me.
“We’ve had a more consistent year, we’ve shined a bit more, but as I said, I’m not happy with these last two races which cast a dark patch into my season. We’ve had a much stronger season than what the last two races show. And the way everything has gone wrong for me in these last two races has been quite dramatic in a way, but it is what it is.
“Sometimes a year goes like this. Normally the end of the season is my biggest strength and this season, for some reason, it hasn’t been the case. It’s time to sit down, analyse, see what I could have done better for these last few races, and come back strong,” summed up Sainz.
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