Blaž Štremfelj
Carlos Sainz spent the first day with the Ferrari team on Friday as he visited the team factory in Maranello and put on a red shirt for the first time.
The Spaniard moved to McLaren after two seasons Ferrari, where he has already begun preparations for the new season. At the factory, he first met the engineers and had already measured the seat. "For me, this is a very special day that I will not forget," he said. “I am already fully prepared, fully motivated for this new challenge. We have a few Christmas holidays ahead of us, where we will be able to unplug our brains a bit and quickly recharge our batteries for the new season. I will be returning to Maranello soon in January, where I will try to help the team progress in the right direction. I can’t wait to continue working after I met up with a few co-workers and took a tour of the factory. I will never forget that and I can't wait to come back. "
Sainz's new boss, Mattia binotto, explained that Carlos has been given tour guidance to know where Maranello is, where the offices are and where the individual departments are. “It’s important to be able to know for yourself where something is in the factory in January. This time we showed him what our values and our history are. We dedicated the day to getting to know our colleagues, meetings with engineers to get to know our organization, and members of his team with whom he will work in the future. ”
Sainz will do at least one for the team work rehearsal in January test and behind the wheel of the 2018 race car, as teams will only have three test days before the start of the new season this year. "In January, he will hit the Ferrari race car on the track for the first time," Binotto explained. "It's an old race car, but we think testing is important in terms of practice procedures, how to communicate with engineers, and the first feeling of working with your engineers and the team itself."
