Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsToro Rosso

Sainz Jr expects ‘tough’ debut

Carlos Sainz Jr is expecting his Formula One debut to be “tough” as he drives in Melbourne for the first time.

This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix will see both Toro Rosso drivers make their race debuts as Sainz Jr and team-mate Max Verstappen form an all-new driver line-up. With the young Spaniard having never raced in Australia before, Sainz Jr admits he thinks the nature of the circuit in Melbourne will make it a challenging weekend for him.

“I have never been to Australia, so I am really looking forward to my first visit to the country and the city of Melbourne, because everyone has told me a lot of good things about it,” Sainz Jr. “I have never seen the track before, which is partly a street circuit, so, as a newcomer, I think it is likely to be tough.

“It will also be the biggest time change I have ever experienced, so I will be heading out there nice and early to deal with any potential jet lag. Overall, I am really excited about these new experiences, particularly the fact it will be my first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix.”

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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.