Carlos Sainz recently found himself onboard the Maranello-based outfit’s vessel ahead of the 2021 season for some tests at Fiorano.

Sainz comes to Ferrari on the back of a number of impressive stats from 2019 as well as 2020, where he finished P6 in the Drivers’ Championship and helped McLaren achieve P3 in the Constructors’ Championship.

The pre-season testing, from 6 days last year, had to be cut down to 3 in 2021; therefore, Ferrari had to use their older cars to help Sainz gather his bearings in their scarlet beast before the start of the 2021 season.

Ferarri had announced last week that they would be conducting a 5-day test at their test track in Fiorano ahead of the upcoming season.

The Prancing Stallion declared that they would be using the 2018 spec Ferrari SF71H. However, with the car being more than 2 years old, there were restrictions on its usage.

Sainz’s first day in a Ferrari

Wednesday was the first day we got to see Sainz in the iconic crimson overalls, zipping around the tracks with his #55. He has already spent a lot of time with Ferrari at their Maranello site running simulations.

Tuesday saw Charles Leclerc putting in 100 laps on the track. The Monegasque left the tracks seemingly satisfied with the results.

When asked about his thoughts on Carlos Sainz, Leclerc said, ” I remember the first day I got into a Ferrari, I was not an official driver but it was very exciting because it was the first F1 drive.”

Added Charles Leclerc, “He won’t forget it. Advice? If he has made it this far, I don’t think he will need it. I wish him big good luck.”

It’s only a matter of time before the Maranello-based outfit discern whether opting to go with Carlos Sainz over a 4-time world champion in Sebastian Vettel was a sound decision or not.

Schumacher along with others to test for Ferrari

The other drivers that got run tests on the cars included Haas F1 driver and Ferrari junior, Mick Schumacher, who will pilot SF71H till Friday afternoon. Callum Ilott, who is a Ferrari test driver, has also been scheduled for a test run.

The other youngsters who put in their laps behind the wheel of the SF71H included the likes of Giuliano Alesi, Robert Shwartzman, and Marcus Armstrong.

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