Carlos Sainz spoke on the mandatory two-stop at the F1 Monaco GP and how it could shakeup the race on Sunday. Elaborating on his unlucky end in Imola, he emphasised the need to focus on strong strategy for both cars and Williams’s potential maximise their consistency against the Ferrari.
Two-stop
In recent memory, Monaco’s narrow, winding street circuit has been notoriously difficult for overtaking. This year the FIA have implemented a mandatory two-stop in an attempt to make the classic race more entertaining.
Reflecting on this change, Sainz spoke on how it could shake up the approaches to strategy on Sunday.
“There’s an element of lottery that Monaco can always offer. I think this year that element is going to be a bit bigger given the two-stop rather than the one-stop.”
Applauding the two-stop, he further stated that:
“I think everyone that is not starting on pole is welcoming the two-stop. It’s the only guy who will be on pole that will be cursing a bit the fact that the year that he starts on pole is the year that is a mandatory two stop and a lot of unknowns could happen.”
That being said, the Spanish driver also pointed out the potential team games that could now come into play.
“I’m just a bit worried of teams playing a bit too much with the pace to help the other teammates. I hope there’s not too many gimmicks with that, but it’s everyone so you never know.”
Reviewing strategies after Imola
Following a bout of bad luck, Sainz highlighted the Williams’s strong pace in Imola was hampered by an unfortunate strategy call.
Sainz was comfortably running in P6 in the early stages as George Russell formed a train behind him thanks to his rear tyres overheating. Charles Leclerc started a chain reaction by boxing early on, with Williams responding to Russell as well. It did not pay off as the VSC and Safety Car went against the Spaniard. He had to settle for P8 in the end as Alex Albon finished 5th.
“Last weekend I got the worst side of things after a very promising, very strong weekend in terms of pace. My strongest to date. Obviously I was left frustrated after a race that I was on the wrong side of the choices.”
Ahead of Monaco, he elaborated on the key role strategy will play in shaping the complexion of the race. He voiced that while he is “always open to split strategies when there’s a level of uncertainty”, he expressed that it should not always be the way to go.
“I believe a strong team could pick the right strategy for both cars…I’m never going to be a fan of splitting because of the sake of splitting. That’s not the way I go racing and that’s not what I believe a strong team should do.”
Moving forward, he disclosed the teams need to improve their strategy communication, however, he remains optimistic for the season ahead.
“I think we still have certainly some areas to focus on and to develop. Especially in terms of interaction between myself, my engineers and the strategy team to make sure we take the right decision.”
“More often than not, unfortunately we’ve been also a bit unlucky on Sundays recently with things. But it’s only the seventh race and I’m sure it will turn around.”
The fight against Ferrari
After being questioned on Williams’s potential to fight the Ferrari at the F1 Monaco GP, Sainz replied, “I think it depends on them.”
Speaking on Williams’s strengths as a team, he communicated how their consistency has been a key asset.
“I think we’ve been fairly consistent this year. I think it’s more the other teams are maybe, with these tricky qualifying tyres, just struggling a bit more to put it together.”
Here, he exemplified how their fight with Ferrari lies in their qualifying, providing optimism for this weekend.
“We’re always between three to five tenths behind pole position. Ferrari sometimes is within a tenth or two and then suddenly, like in Imola or Miami, they drop in quali.
“They might be having some qualifying issues because in race pace in Imola they were strong. Probably one or two tenths stronger than us on race pace.”
