Formula 1 requires a lot of skill, as only twenty of the best drivers in the world get to race every year, but it does also require some luck, something that it seems Carlos Sainz has run out of.
The Spaniard is a very quick driver on his day, consistently challenging for pole position in his Ferrari this year, and even picking up his first win at Silverstone.
The 28-year-old is in his second year with the Scuderia, really coming into his own this year and even causing people to claim he is better than his teammate Charles Leclerc at times.
Sainz has however struggled for luck, finishing a race because of a DNF six times this year, and the majority have been engine failures or someone else causing a collision that forces him to retire, his DNF’s have very rarely been his fault.
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The Spaniard how now spoken out on his experiences this season, saying that nothing seems to be going right for him in 2022.
“It’s been a nightmare of a season to be honest because of all these things; all the DNFs, being slow when the car was quick, and now I’m quick and we are not as quick as we used to be. So it’s everything that has gone wrong,” he told reporters.
Recently the Ferrari driver has seen an improvement in his performance after a mid season dip in form, picking up pole in Austin and generally looking strong when compared to his teammate, and Sainz believes his natural ability is beginning to shine through without all the interfering problems.
“I just know how to drive. I mean, it’s instinctive. I’m not thinking about driving anymore,” he explained.
“And you can see the lap times are coming a lot easier. And I’m back to a level that I should have been at the beginning of the year.
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“This season has gone wrong, but the positive side is that I’m keeping my spirits up even on a horrible season or impossible to be more difficult season.
“And I’m still there with my engineers fighting, still finding lap time in this car. I think it could have been very easy to give up on it and let the year go away, but the pole in Austin and again being quick out here today [Mexico], I think it’s a good sign for us.”
Sainz will be hoping to finish the season strong by helping Ferrari to fend off Mercedes for second place in the championship, after the Brackley based team closed the gap to 40 points after the Mexican GP.