How does an experienced F1 driver approach his first day with a new team, behind the wheel of a new car?
This is what Williams F1 revealed in a short documentary on Carlos Sainz's first day at the wheel of the FW46, during testing in Abu Dhabi, at the end of last season.
Sainz described his first outing with the Williams as “much” after experiencing “a completely different car”but he is convinced that he can help the team to “refine” the new F1.
When speaking to the technical team members after getting out of the car, one of them suggested that this “feels like the first day of school, right?” » to which Sainz replied: “Yes, a completely different car. It's crazy! Even the accelerator pedal. You feel the steering column a little more compared to the Ferrari. »
Having made further adjustments before Sainz continued on what was in effect a discovery day, he was then filmed in further discussions about the finer aspects of the car.
“I would like to examine in a little detail with you the forward and reverse slippage of my turn and the separation of the wheels in the differential, especially when I put the accelerator back on”Sainz remarked.
It was pointed out to Sainz that it was “an interesting comment”. He replied: “I feel like there's a bit of a delay in how fast the differential should close. »
Reminding him that his available car was based on feedback from former driver Franco Colapinto, who has since joined Alpine as a test and reserve driver, Sainz responded to his engineers: “Show me data when you can and I can tell you if I think it’s too much or not enough.” »
“I need to see in the data how I feel about the car because I think if I can see how I feel I can help you refine a lot. We're talking about tweaking. The last settings we tested for me worked well. »
Paying tribute to Colapinto's set-up, Sainz concluded in the documentary: “With these settings from Franco, you can brake a little later. I'm happy. »
