Carlos Sainz relays the emotions that had all-weekend long in F1 Abu Dhabi GP for his final race for Ferrari, as he wanted to soak it all in before the Williams switch.
Having known his future of exiting Ferrari for a year, Sainz had a long time to process the end. But it wasn’t easy considering he was forced to leave the F1 team at a time when they were looking to win championships after fighting for one against McLaren this year.
If he was switching to a team also fighting for the championship, it wouldn’t have been so hard to leave but since he is moving to Williams, who will take more time to reach that level, the Spaniard had a hard time in letting things go. Also, having spent four years at Ferrari, it was anyhow tough.
He kept his emotions in check as much but once the grand prix was done and Ferrari celebrated his tenure, it all came through as Ferrari posted a video of him crying as well after watching the parting video. Even though he had Williams at the back of his mind, it was a tough parting.
Emotions driving the Ferrari one final time –
Sainz: “Strange. A bit emotional, I’m not going to lie. Probably, I would say it was more emotional the last time that I jumped in the car, in the grid. I knew that was obviously going to be my last race with a group of people that I’ve enjoyed these last four years. The last time that I would jump in a Ferrari car, probably, and I was just feeling emotional. I tried to remind myself to try and enjoy the race as much as possible and to give the absolute maximum for this team. Jumping out of the car, I already had the bittersweet feeling. Maybe I already have [shown emotions]. And you just don’t know. And you haven’t seen it. Maybe it was in the helmet. Maybe it was in the in the 10 minutes prior to a race when I was in the car. Maybe it was in the in-lap. Yeah. Maybe you’ll never know.
“I can just tell you that I did get emotional at some point on Sunday. I’m not going to tell you exactly when or how. It’s a feeling that I save to myself and for my team. And yeah, maybe it’s all a bit of acting, and I’m acting like I’m not emotional at all. And I’ve learned from Brad Pitt. I don’t know. I tell you, I’ve been emotional. It’s just up until the final day, there was too much of a job to do and too much of a thing to fight for. So your brain doesn’t allow you to get emotional because you care more about winning and giving the team a Constructors’ Championship than your emotions itself. Let’s say, your competitiveness takes over. But on Sunday, there were moments that I got emotional and luckily you guys didn’t get to see it.”
Hard to move on –
Sainz: “Being very honest with you, I don’t think so. I think, I’m not going to lie, my last laps, as much as I was pushing like hell for this team and trying to, I was already starting to feel things in the car and trying to say, remember how this feels because after Sunday and from Tuesday, I needed to remember why was this car quick in this corner and why does it feel good? Because I know probably what I was going to find on Tuesday, it needs some margin of improvement in the corners that I was feeling the car.
“So this just sums up that I was already looking also ahead. I’m extremely motivated for the challenge that I have ahead of me. Sunday was a day to try and enjoy as much as possible with the team as my last day in red. We still have some days in Maranello coming up, but obviously my competitive mind was already looking forward to Monday and Tuesday and to see how I can make that Williams car faster.”
Time at Ferrari –
Sainz: “Yeah, I feel obviously very proud of my time in Ferrari. Proud to have contributed these four years to bring in this team back to where it belongs, that is fighting for world championships. Unfortunately, like Charles said, we didn’t manage this year, but I have a feeling that Ferrari now is ready to fight for the world championship next year. And together with Charles, I honestly believe they have a very good chance, and they are, for me, one of the favourites for next year. From my side, I’m proud of the four years, but maybe more proud of this last year. I think this last year was a very tough year mentally and very challenging with the news at the beginning of the year to keep the motivation up, to keep the determination, to keep pushing through the whole year with a 24-race calendar and not letting myself get too deflated at times.
“I think it’s been a big challenge that I think I managed to respond with good strength and determination to finish the year strongly and to finish the year with a few podiums, with a win in Mexico and helping the team to dream about the Constructors’ title. We’ve seen that it was not easy for any other driver that was leaving a team to keep that focus and that motivation up through the whole year. And I managed to do that. And that’s what makes me feel good about this year and my lasting of this season.”
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