Carlos Sainz made a successful debut for Ferrari in his first official day on track in a private test at Fiorano.
Sainz managed to complete over 100 laps on his first day of on-track running for Ferrari in their 2018 SF71H, witnessed by his father and Rally driver – Carlos Sainz Senior and new teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Marco Matassa who heads up Ferrari’s Driver Academy was also present to witness his former colleague make his Scuderia debut, having previously worked closely with Sainz when together at Toro Rosso between 2015-17.
Speaking on how his morning unfolded, Sainz spoke of having early meetings at sunrise before arriving at the track to find the SF71H sporting his number 55 on the car which the Spaniard described as “one of the most special moments…” of the day.
As part of his programme, Sainz focused on understanding the car procedures of which many features are relevant to Ferrari’s 2021 car, alongside building a bond with the mechanics and working with the engineers that he had already met at the factory in recent weeks.
The Spaniard added that he was “very pleased…” with the day’s running, saying; “We were able to get through an extensive programme and I was able to familiarise myself with the whole setup: the engineers and mechanics, the steering wheel, the procedures which are obviously a bit different to those on the car I drove last season.”
On the topic of having Sainz Snr present, the 26 year-old said; “It was very nice to have my father there at such an important moment in my career.”
Sainz also praised Mattia Binotto and everyone else associated with Ferrari for giving him ‘such a warm welcome’ plus a day full of positives in the 2018 car of which he will be back behind the wheel of tomorrow morning before handing over to Mick Schumacher in the afternoon.
Leclerc meanwhile completed his seat fitting at Ferrari’s Vehicle Assembly department for the 2021 car after witnessing Sainz conduct his opening laps in the car, with the Monegasque having driven yesterday.
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