Carlos Sainz Admits He Is ‘Ready to Face’ the Bumpy Surface of the Circuit of The Americas

Although Carlos Sainz looked slightly unsettled in his first few races for Ferrari, he seems to have finally found his groove. The Spaniard is among the most consistent drivers this season, with regular top-10 finishes and three podiums in his debut season with the Italian outfit so far.

This weekend, F1 returns to the Circuit of The Americas for the first time in two years. During a recent interview, Sainz explained the challenge of dealing with the bumps that feature on this track.

Carlos Sainz gives his mindset on dealing with bumps this weekend

While the United States Grand Prix is quite technical, the Circuit of The Americas has quite a bumpy surface. Recently, MotoGP hosted Round 15 of its ongoing world championship at this track. During the race, riders faced issues with the track due to its bumpy surface.

Although the organisers reworked on the surface prior to the arrival of F1 teams, concerns still linger about it. During an interview with Motorsport, Sainz revealed how the track’s bumpy surface form a part of its identity. While he called for a limit on them, the ‘Smooth Operator’ admitted he is ready to face them this weekend.

He said, “The bumps give character to a track, but obviously there is a limit, and I think it is not luck that allows you to overcome an area of ​​the track, but skill. Then you have to keep in mind the reliability of the gearbox and the engine overspeed, but in general, if the bumps don’t bother too much, I’m ready to face a few bumps.”

READ MORE: Why did Ferrari Sign Carlos Sainz?

Sainz: Austin is a well done modern track

Despite the criticism around the bumpy surface, Sainz admitted Austin is among the good modern F1 tracks today. He appreciated the challenges presented by the corners, along with the difficulty in overtaking.

“I think the Austin one is an example of a modern track that is absolutely well done, they understood well how to combine the sequence of curves, the compromise between high and low speed and overtaking. At times I have been quite critical of modern tracks, but this is one of the good ones,” he said.

Ferrari trail McLaren by 7.5 points in the constructor’s championship heading into this weekend. Although the SF21 looks likely to struggle in Austin, Sainz will hope to produce a good result on October 24.

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