🇭🇺 Carlos gave an interview to the Spanish media "Mundo Deportivo" about what his future holds and how he feels:
MD: We send you our condolences on behalf of Mundo Deportivo for the death of your grandfather. How are you feeling?
CS: "Thank you very much. I am well. I was lucky enough to be able to make the most of him until he was 97 years old, in fact he died just the day after his 97th birthday. On the other hand, I am calm because I know that I have taken advantage of all the time I have been able to spend with him and that is the message I have wanted to send on social media to the younger kids, that they should take advantage of the time with their grandparents and spend time with their older relatives because it is a law of life that one day they will not be around and then you can always regret not having spent more time with them."
MD: Is there anything that has inspired you from your grandfather to face your day-to-day life as a pilot?
CS: "Not as a pilot, but as a person he certainly inspired me. He was a person who didn't have it easy from an early age. He was left without a father at the age of 14, he had to take care of his whole family by himself and he was a successful man, above all, and he did whatever he wanted, without ever taking into account what others might think, something that I think in today's world with social media you are always a bit worried about what they will say and what they will think of me. He was always a person who followed his path and did what he wanted, with very good values, but always doing what he thought was right and moving forward."
MD: Do you think you can dedicate a victory to him this season?
CS: "Yes, if I win this year, I'll dedicate it to him, for sure. And if I don't, I'll dedicate a podium to him, which would be a good result."
MD: How are you facing the weekend in Hungary?
CS: "We've made a step forward, but behind Verstappen it's a very close battle. It depends a lot on the tracks and we have to be aware that there will be better and worse weekends. We hope to find good conditions here."
MD: What is your assessment of the start of the year?
CS: "You always have to put it in perspective. In terms of results, it was not great, with a lot of fourth, fifth and sixth places. I think we all expected a little bit more, including me. But if I look at the detail of how much I've got out of the car, I don't think I'm having a bad year. I think I'm driving well, I'm qualifying well, I'm having good races, good races, again, from less to more. Maybe the results don't quite reflect it, but it's been a bit of a strange year in that respect."
MD: Max Verstappen, who wins everything with Red Bull, would not win with the current Ferrari either.
CS: "Well, if Charles and I were driving the Red Bull and we didn't let him win like he doesn't let us, it would be like that. But I don't like to compare because you will never know. But it is very well known that nowadays in F1 the car is very important."
MD: The Maranello factory worked against the clock to deliver several evolution packages quickly, weeks ahead of schedule. What is it like to see that work from the inside?
CS: "It's a spectacular thing. To see a factory the size of Ferrari, with its ability to react, to work day and night to get parts out, to get things done, is one of the most beautiful and most special things you can see in F1. Especially when you spend days in the factory. I'm very involved, I see it and I have the opportunity to go and say hello to all the workers very often and thank them, because they are the ones who make the difference in the end."
MD: How many hours can you spend in the factory?
CS: "On average I spend one or two days a week at the factory. About 6 hours each of those days, more or less. That's on the weeks when I don't have a race, obviously. When you have a race you lower the intensity a bit in that respect. Or the week before the race I spend a day or a day and a half. I go to the simulator for half a day or three quarters of that day. I spend another half day in meetings with engineers and then another half day I go and say hello to some department, say hello to people that you might not have the chance to see if you don't go to the factory."
MD: How do you feel at Ferrari?
CS: "I honestly feel that I'm at the ideal time in my career to be a Ferrari driver, because I'm looking forward to it. It's an intense place to be, because you have a lot of things to take care of, you have a lot of responsibilities, you race for the Ferrari team, which I think says it all, and you have to have a lot of desire. You have to be 100% dedicated to F1 and to the team and I am in that moment between maturity and youth to take advantage of being at Ferrari."
MD: Every driver is a person… Do criticisms and rumours, which must always be experienced more intensely by Ferrari drivers, become exhausting?
CS: "They could be exhausting, but not for me. If you're not at 100% like I am, or you're at the beginning or end of your career, they could wear you down. I'm not going to deny it. But I'm so 100% and so happy to be at Ferrari that the noise doesn't exhaust me or affect me because I don't let it."
MD: If you are so happy at Ferrari and feels so loved, I must ask if you want to continue at Ferrari beyond the end of your current contract, which runs until the end of 2024.
CS: "My priority, of course, is to continue at Ferrari. I don't see any better place in F1 right now than a team like Ferrari, which has the ambition to win again. I want to win another race as soon as possible and, if possible, fight for a World Championship. And since we both share the same objective, if that team is Ferrari, then I don't see why I shouldn't continue. But I have said it many times: I always like to go into the last season of my contract knowing where I am going to race the following year and that will be my intention this year." He added, "It also depends on the contract (laughing)"
MD: What does it depend on?
CS: "To come to an agreement. It's like always in life. You both have to agree to shake hands and sign a contract, and if you don't agree on anything, you talk about it. You know that I will always do my part, everything I can to stay in a team like Ferrari."
MD: Are you calm and confident that an agreement will be reached?
CS: "I am not worried. I have set a date for myself, the winter of this year, to try to find out what is going to happen to me, but I will think about it more at the end of the season, what I would and wouldn't be worth to be here and what I can continue to offer Ferrari? I'm just very focused on the season. Now, also, in the middle of the season… maybe in the summer I think a little bit because you have a three-week break and you think about things. But now, between races, you don't have time to stop and think about it."
MD: Last year you said that the Ferrari car had to be driven very aggressively and it was difficult for you to adapt. How is it this year?
CS: "Honestly, the car is very similar to last year's car to drive. The driving style is exactly the same. I've just made the effort to adapt to it and drive it a bit better, and above all I've made the effort to learn the set-up and see what things with this car can help me to go faster. But above all, the biggest effort has been both driving and getting to know the car. It's true that this year's car, in relation to the others, is not so competitive, but in the end, it's a car that is very similar to last year's, or almost the same."
MD: Is the goal of being a champion with Ferrari still intact?
CS: "The goal of being champion with Ferrari is still intact, yes, and hopefully for a long time to come."
