Sainz wants Renault to keep pushing forward

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Carlos Sainz is happy that Renault are getting stronger as the season progresses. But he also knows that the squad had to maintain the momentum over the summer or risk going backward.

"We’re coming from a very strong team result in Canada so I think we can be positive about that," he said, reflecting on his eighth place finish in Montreal.

The Spanish driver has been in the top ten at all but one of the first seven races of 2018. He just missed out on points in Bahrain, but his best result was fifth place in Azerbaijan.

Along with strong results for his team mate Nico Hulkenberg, it means that the team is in a solid fourth place in the constructors championship.

But Sains is the first to admit that there is still a long way to go if Renault are to retain that status through to the season finale.

"We need to keep developing the car at this rate," he commented this week. "Everything we are bringing to the circuit is working and the car is getting quicker and quicker.

"I feel we are making good progress every time I go on track," he continued. "And this is translating into points, shown at the past few races.

"It’s good to be consistent and to keep picking up points at every race. That’s the target every weekend, so let’s make it six in a row in France!"

Hulkenberg 'extra motivated' to deliver at Renault's home race

Next weekend's race is a journey into the unknown for many drivers on today's F1 grid. The last time that Circuit Paul Ricard staged a Grand Prix was in 1990 - four years before the 23-year-old Sainz was even born.

Sainz didn't think that would be a problem, however.

"Paul Ricard has quite similar characteristics to Montréal," he explained. "Two long straights and emphasis on a good top speed. So if we can perform in a similar manner to Canada, we’ll be happy."

The race will also be the first home race for Renault in a decade. And while he's trying to play it down, there's no question that this landmark means as much to Sainz as it does to the team.

"Each weekend I’m highly motivated to achieve the best result possible, and this will be no different in that regard," he insisted.

"However, the fact that it is the home race for Renault will give us all an extra boost!

"It’ll be a busy Grand Prix off the track and there’ll be a lot of interest from media and sponsors.

"But when the visor goes down, it’ll be business as usual for us guys," he promised. "And we’ll be out there to get the maximum from it."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.