Carlos Sainz says Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles are normal, urging critics to respect the adaptation phase experienced by seasoned F1 drivers.
Sainz is not surprised that Lewis Hamilton is struggling to adapt to Ferrari this year. The Williams F1 driver, formerly with the Scuderia, explains that for an experienced driver changing teams, like himself and Hamilton, it is more difficult to adapt and eliminate bad habits than it is for a rookie.
Adaptation Takes Experienced Longer
“I believe the difficulties are real for him, for me, and for Nico Hülkenberg,” said Sainz. “They are real for any newcomer in a team, although a rookie has less experience but also less muscle memory from other cars he recently drove, because he arrives with a clean slate.”
“We have the muscle memory of 24 races over three or four consecutive years during which we drove a different car, so everything feels strange. Coming back to Lewis, the adaptation process is completely normal.”
“He spent ten years in the same team, so I think everything must feel completely strange and off in the Ferrari. The only thing we can do as a team is adapt to the evolving situation.”
“The only thing we can do as drivers is try to make the adaptation process as short as possible, but the process and the races will always require a certain amount of time to adjust.”
Sainz Defends Hamilton’s Legacy
The Spaniard is irritated to see Hamilton’s record and talent questioned because of a poor start to the season. “One can judge how long it takes a driver to adapt to a team, but judging a driver’s career in that team over six or seven races is unfair.”
“One can probably judge how long it takes a driver to adapt to a team, but we need to wait years to see how it works out for me at Williams, how it works out for him, how it works out for Nico at Sauber or Audi. Only time will tell.”
Sainz Leads Williams Revival
Sainz has outqualified Hamilton twice in a row, but he is most proud of what that represents for Williams F1. “For me, it is not so much the satisfaction of having beaten Ferrari in the last two qualifying sessions, it is the satisfaction with the work we are doing.”
“I know that five races ago, this would not have been possible. We changed things in my driving, we changed things in the car. The team listened to me when I said what we needed to change. Immediately, once those things were changed, we took a step forward in performance and development.”
“That gave me more confidence because I know how to guide the team and what we need to focus on, and I know that if I keep giving the right information, together with Alex, we can continue to build momentum as we are. Beating a Ferrari in qualifying is just a consequence of that.”
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