General
Sainz: "Every point we can get now is absolutely crucial"
- GPblog.com
The calendar for this year's season currently covers eight races and to make it profitable fifteen races will have to be driven. But with the pandemic, planning has turned out to be very difficult, although the expectation is that the additional calendar will be published soon. But since a lot is still uncertain, it is important for all teams to score as many points as possible.
Strong competition
With a season of 22 races there is enough room for mistakes and not reaching the finish line. That changes when the season is limited to eight races and maybe more. For that reason, Carlos Sainz of McLaren underlines the importance of making the most of every opportunity, especially in view of defending their fourth position in last year's constructors' championship.
"Due to less races in the calendar and the strong competition we expect from our direct rivals, we can't afford to lose concentration. We actually don't even know the amount of races we are going to do. It's an unprecedented scenario, so every point we can get is absolutely crucial."
Good Feeling
"The MCL35 felt really good during winter testing, a positive continuation of what we had last year, so I'm very excited to finally compete this season", Sainz says optimistically on the Formula 1 website. He also looks forward to the first race in Austria, where McLaren - despite a penalty - did pretty well last year.
"Last year we did well in Austria, having to battle into the points from the back of the grid due to a penalty, so we know there are plenty of opportunities for on-track overtakes. However, it's difficult to confidently predict our performance given the time away from track", Sainz concluded.