Sainz targets victory blitz to ease pain of "tough" Ferrari year

Carlos Sainz aims to take the lessons from a “tough” and “challenging” first part of the year and deliver a haul of victories in the remaining races of the F1 season.

Sainz, who started the campaign with three podiums in the first five races and took his first F1 victory at Silverstone in July, has also posted more retirements than any of the other front-running drivers.

Asked what he would take from that, he said: “A lot of lessons.

"Probably many more than I would have expected, especially after last year getting to a point with the car and the team where I felt 100 per cent ready with the car and the team to fight for whatever comes.

“This first half of the season presented me with challenges that maybe I wasn’t fully expecting, like a challenging car for my driving style and the way I was feeling with it, a couple of mistakes at the beginning of the year, a lot of DNFs.

"That immediately threw me away from the fight. From there it’s been a bit uphill. Even when it seemed like my season was starting to click, [I had] the DNF in Austria that sends you all the way back.

“It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie, it’s been a challenging first half but it has also been a season where I got my first win, my first pole, so things are also positive."

Sainz targeting multiple victories

Sainz is now fifth in the championship, two points behind fourth-paced Mercedes driver George Russell and just 22 away from his second-placed Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The Spanish driver, who was quickest in FP1 for this weekend's Belgian GP, feels prepared to get back in the battle at the front.

“I am particularly proud about how we have progressed with the car and how strong we have been in the last few races in terms of pace," added Sainz.

“Personally, [the target] is just to win as many races as possible, get my second win in F1 in a dry weekend, or however it comes I don’t mind, but get pole positions, wins, and see where that takes us in the championship.

“I also think it is a great opportunity for the team to keep building.

"This year we have had a competitive car and we need to find ways to maximise it and to use it the best we can, and in these nine races we need to keep trying to keep doing that.”

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