Carlos Sainz has admitted that his recent win in Mexico has reinstated his credence that he is good enough to win a title in Formula 1 operating at his strongest level.
Sainz delivered a commanding weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last month as he charged to pole position and then converted that into a race victory.
The Spaniard’s success backed up team-mate Charles Leclerc’s triumph in the United States to thrust Ferrari into contention to seize the Constructors’ Championship.
Sainz, who will lose his seat to Lewis Hamilton in 2025, conceded that his eagerness to experience one last win in Ferrari colours had caused a growing mental strain.
“The important thing is we got that win,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week in Brazil.
“I started feeling I was putting a lot of pressure on my shoulders to try and get another win before the end of the year.
“I was starting to feel that pressure that I was putting on myself.
“So I’m happy that I did it in the way I did in Mexico, happy that it coincided with my family there who have been a great support to me, such a great place, Mexico City.”
Sainz targeting more wins in closing races
But while he secured the win that had eluded him since he prevailed in Australia back in March, Sainz has stressed that he will not relent across the remaining rounds.
“From now on, if another opportunity arises, I’ll be the first one to win it, it’s not like now suddenly I’m going to relax now and go on holiday,” he continued.
“I’m going to be still fighting for every single opportunity, but [the] important thing for me was to get one more before I left.”
Mexico win a boost to Sainz’s confidence
Meanwhile, the Williams-bound driver believes that he can aspire to become World Champion should he replicate the standard he set in Mexico on a consistent basis.
Asked what the return to the top step had done for his confidence, Sainz replied: “Both energy and confidence.
“Energy because the batteries in that third triple-header back-to-back are not going down, for sure, on the downslope for everyone in the team.
“This just gives good energy to myself, good energy to the team, motivates everyone.
“Then confidence because it’s a reminder to me that when I have everything under my control, when I have weekends like Mexico, I prove to myself I can win races, that in the future if I keep performing like this, be a World Champion no? I just need to keep reminding myself and keep focusing on myself to see how I can keep delivering like in Mexico, keep performing in Mexico, because in [the] future it will put me in a good spot. It’s a good reminder of that thing.”
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