"It's time to move on" - Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on importance of FIA's report into Abu Dhabi debacle

Carlos Sainz says it is time for F1 to “move on” from last season’s Abu Dhabi debacle and not spend “too much time in the past”.

The FIA is expected to release its official findings today from its inquiry into the controversial events. Sainz believes it is important for everyone to read the report, ensure that such events do not occur in the future and they “never talk about it”.

Speaking at the media session ahead of the season-opening Bahrain GP, the Ferrari driver said:

“I’m obviously interested in seeing what it comes out of it and what we have learned as a sport and what changes are going to be applied to make sure that such thing doesn’t repeat again. But at the same time, I think it’s time to… as soon as it comes out and as soon as it is analysed and read by everyone, it’s time to move on.”

He went on to say:

“We are in March 2021. We’re still talking about December 2021. And I think as a sport, it’s also time to… whatever comes out of that meeting, learn from it, apply the lessons learned and move on and never talk about it too much again. Because if not, we’re just going to spend too much time in the past.”

Carlos Sainz’s views on the matter were supported by fellow F1 drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Bottas says that while he is “keen to see” the report, he mainly wants to ensure that the sport has “learnt” its lessons from the events.

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Carlos Sainz wouldn’t be disappointed if Ferrari lose steam in championship battle

Carlos Sainz says he wouldn’t be disappointed if Ferrari fails to mount a sustained championship campaign in 2022, after a promising start to the season. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Bahrain GP, the Spaniard said:

“It wouldn’t be a disappointment. We obviously want to be in the fight and our team boss has said many times that we want to be back fighting, whether you win it or not. In the end, its competition, but we want to be back fighting and that’s the target for this year. I think we have a good point of understanding. We had a very good pre-season testing with zero reliability issues that allowed us to understand the car and move forward.”

Ferrari has been in impressive form across pre-season testing and throughout practice sessions during the Bahrain GP weekend, with most F1 fans hoping for the Scuderia’s return to the top. There has been some apprehension, however, that the Italian team might lose steam as the season progresses, just as they have done over several seasons in the past.

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s late resurgence, combined with the uncertainty over Mercedes’ true performance have all contributed to fears over whether Ferrari could truly challenge for the championship.