wuqian0821.com
Pre-season testing 💛is over for you now, how are you 💝feeling in the car and ahead of your first F1 race?

Carlos Sainz Jr
I'm feeling very good to be honest, especia💜lly after the day I had yester𝓀day. The afternoon I had yesterday to be more specific. It was a good confidence boost to arrive in Melbourne in a decent position.

wuqian0821.com
With Toro Ros⛎so bringing the 'new' STR10 at the final test, how important were the first two tests for personally?

Carlos Sainz Jr
It was more to evaluate the power unit, reliability, the car reliability. For myself th🍎ough it was a chance to get back into it, get to grips with an F1 car, the Pirelli tyres... As soon as we brought the new car to the TO3, we say, OK, now it's time to be honest and do some more performance.

wuqian0821.com
T💝oro Rosso's mileage has been pretty good ඣover the winter, but it's had it fair share of stops too. Does that give you cause for optimism or concern?

Carlos Sainz Jr
It's a bit weird to evaluate because we're doing a lot of laps. I think we are one of the teams that are doing more laps per day which means reliability is good, but on the other hand, were having very small problems during the day that maybe slows down the programme. At the end, this is positive because you want to have all these problems in the testing. You want ꦇto have all the small issues in the testing, so they won't be there in Melbourne. I feel they🍌 have done a good job in this area because the lap times show it.

wuqian0821.com
With Renault having c🦹oncentrating its efforts on just Toro Rosso and Red Bull in 2015, do you feel the team will benefit from greater focus or would more teams - thus more mileage - be beneficial?

Carlos Sainz Jr
Having two teams with the ꧋same engine and being used to being really close to each other which is the case with Red Bull and Toro Rosso, I think we can do a big step forward if we work together and there's a good relationship between the teams. I think it would be good for Red Bull and good for Toro Rosso and I really hope this keeps going and helping each other because it will put us both in a good position.

wuqian0821.com
As one of two rookies in the team, how much have you been working with ಞMax Verstappen to bring the team up🌼 to speed?

Carlos Sainz Jr
We have worked, everyone in the team, every single one very hard and together. The night🏅 shifts and day shifts of the mechanics, engineers... Drivers maximise - we work together to try to extract the most out of package so we arrive in Melbourne in a good position. Once we're in Melbourne, everyone will just try to beat each other, but🌳 that's how racing works.

wuqian0821.com
Where would 💦you say Toro Rosso stands heading into the ღopening round?

Carlos Sainz Jr
It's very tricky. I think our package feels really nice to drive. It's 🀅good on tyres [on long runs]. That's why I really hope we can be ahead of Sauber and Lotus, this is obviously the main target. Of course, we do𓆉n't know where Force India and McLaren are because they are not doing so much here. It's kind of unknown for us. I think to be in the points in the first race would be obviously tough, but that goal would be our good prize and a good feeling.

wuqian0821.com
Drivers will always say they want more time in the🌸 car, but do you feel as prepared as you can be?

Carlos Sainz Jr
I think after my last day, I am fully prepared for Melbourne with a good confidence boost from. I just cannot wait! I want to get t🐷here and get the car out in Melbou♊rne and see if the car feels as good as it does in Barcelona.

wuqian0821.com
What are you expecting emo🔜tions to be like when you line-up for the first time on the grid?

Carlos Sainz Jr
It will be high. It will be different to any other thing. Probably when you are so concentrated, you probably won't realise that you've just𝕴 started a Formula 1 race. But🐈 I'm sure the night before and on Saturday I'll be thinking about it.

wuqian0821.com
Are you a driver that gets nervous before something like this or are you fairly rel🍸axed?

Carlos Sainz Jr
Everyone on the grid gets nervous before a Formula 1 race. It's just how you manage it. It's impossible not to be a bit nervous before a Formula 1 start or even before a World Series start. You have nerves. The thing is, you know how to control them. My previous experience from last year when I was under big stress or big pressure to win a race in World Series, I performed, so it's not a 🔥worry.

wuqian0821.com
You have previously spoken of your admiration and the influence 🅘of Fernando Alonso - what will it be like to share a grid with him?

Carlos Sainz Jr
This is why, for me, it's really important to have Fernando in Australia. You know my view has always been to fight against my heroes. Now I have the opportunity to 🔜fight against people like Hamilton, Vettel, but Fernando has always been my reference, my hꩵero and having him next to me in Australia would be amazing. That's why I wish him a quick recovery and I really hope he will be there.

wuqian0821.com
What's your relationship like with Fern💮ando? Has he given you any advice ahead of your debut

Carlos Sainz Jr
We get on very well together. He's always helped me a lot in my career. It would have been more difficult for me to get to Formula 1 - he has always had positive comments and positive attitude towards me in the press to everyone that🐼 he knows. And for me, that a double world champion and my hero can say that about me is very i𓂃mportant and gave me a push.

wuqian0821.com
Have you enjoyed spending the▨ pre-season tests in Spain 🎀- you're swamped every time you step out!

Carlos Sainz Jr
I've enjoyed it a lot, especially the first day in Jerez. It was huge for me to see that there were a lot of people in that test. It's been a bit tough wi♈th lots of interviews, because there's usually a lot of Spanish media who is coming and asking for a lot of interviews, so a lot of busy days when I was not in the car. But at the end of the day, I just get used to it, getting on with it.

wuqian0821.com
Like a few drivers on the grid, your name is very well establisheওd in motorsport, but unlike Max or Nico, your father made his success in the World Rally Championship. Were you never tempted to follow that path?

Carlos Sainz Jr
I do ꦿtry rallying. I do l🉐ike rallying a lot. We have a rally car there in the countryside in Madrid. And everytime I'm there, I just jump in and have some fun. I really like rallying

wuqian0821.com
How much has your Dad influenced you up to F1 and ahea𓆏♛d of your debut?

Carlos Sainz Jr
My Dad has given me a lot of advice, but this advice comes especially from the attitude point of view. He's never told me how to drive a car, how to do a corner, nothing like that. He believe this comes from the talent. You are born with it or you are not born with it. He believes I have the talent and from there, he told me "I fully believe in your talent. I've seen what you're capable of doing. Now I'm going to tell you the attitude that you need to have to explore this talent and become a world champion. Follow my advice because I'm a world champion and I know what it takes." This has been his main focus on o💎bviously my main focus.

wuqian0821.com
You won the Formula Renault 3.5 title exactly 24 years to the day that your father won his first World Rally Championship title. Does you realise this at the time... has it made you a little superstitious?
Carlos Sainz Jr
I didn't have an idea until they told me just before the race. If you win the Championship today, this coincidence will happen. It was a bit of a shock. I'm not superstitious, I'm obviously bringing🎉 a lot of things from my 3.5 campaign which worked and I'm going to repeat them, but it's not superstitious. It's work ethic and being methodic. You maybe have small superstitions, like mayb🎉e stepping into the car from the right side or something like that, but nothing huge.

wuqian0821.com
Have you looked at the dateܫ of your Dad's first WRC win and seen if it matches up with any race dates this year?

Carlos Sainz Jr
[laughs] I'm going to take a little look!

wuqian0821.com
There has been plenty of focus on your team-mate Max about his age, but you're also g🍷oing to be a young starter in 2015. You have had more racing experience though, so with that in mind, how important were those years in F3💛, GP3 and FR3.5 for you to develop as a driver and do you feel it gives you an edge over your team-mate

Carlos Sainz Jr
I think I can benefit. Especially those years in F3 and GP3 that were tough for me, coming to realise some things and becoming a much stronger driver. That's why I won the 3.5 in 2014. But I also believe that Max is fully ready for this ye༺ar. He did a really nice preparation last year with Toro Rosso, which I didn🗹't have and gave him a bit of an advantage in getting to grips with the Toro Rosso car. In the end, one thing compensates the other and we are starting both from scratch at Melbourne.

wuqian0821.com
How crucial was it for yo🉐u to clinch the FR3.5 title last year?

Carlos Sainz Jr
I saw it as simpl꧅y, I wouldn't have gone into F1 without putting all my things together. The FR3.5 year was to confirm myself as a complete driver, such as being able to fight back in tricky situations, being able to be consistent in the whole year, do all of the pole positions and the race wins. Helping to consolidate myself and arrive to Formula 1 with more confidence, with a clearer picture about how I work and how I feel.

wuqian0821.com
How important is that improvement in consistency for you coming into F1, particulಞarly in a car that is unlikely to be challenging for wins?

Carlos Sainz Jr
The key from my side will be just to be as consistent as possible and make less rookie mistakes. There will be rookie mistakes and necessary ones to understand. For me, I will have to accept rookie mistakes, but you just have to do as few as possible. I think we have a strong package I think we have a strong rate of development for the year and a plan. If I manage to put the rookie mistakes apart, just possible and all this planning that we've done comes together, we'll do a strong season tog🎃ether.

wuqian0821.com
Do you think you w🧜ould be here now if you had finished second, third or fourth, rather than win the title?

Carlos Sainz Jr
If I wanted to have just a small chance of getting in to F1, the only small chance by getting it was by winning a championship. Coming second was absolutely not an option and I knew that since I came into 3.5 i🌺t's quite tough to realise that you can only win, and it was tough moments. It was tough, but in the end I became strong. Coming second, I can say that I wouldn't be here in Barcelona testing.

wuqian0821.com
Max was announced fairly early on and it was something of a surprise deal when𒁃 all signs suggested you would be next in line for an F1 seat. How disappointed were you to be overlooked initially?

Carlos Sainz Jr
To be honest, it was a big disappointment. I was doing things perfectly. After doing things really well, I had a perfect beginning of the season. When they announ🐼ced Max, you don't feel good. You feel a bit down and you feel like your opportunity has gone. I kept the faith though and I picked myself up. More than ever, I just tried to continue demonstrating to Red Bull that I still deserve that seat and it was a help for me to just do another step forward in my work, my motivation to get that seat and in the end by luck or coincidence, Daniil could upgrade to Red Bull and ไI sit up here. Whether it is work ethic and perseverance or coincidence, I don't know. Maybe it's a bit of both. I just took my chance.

wuqian0821.com
Was there a moment when you thought twice about accept♛ing the F1 deal when it came up again?

Carlos Sainz Jr
It was a big moment for me when suddenly it came up and I saw Sebastian was leaving Red Bull. Suddenly, the♈re was some light at the end of the tunnel. After that, there were two very tough months because no-one announced me. There was a discussion between F1 and myself and I still have two r𓆏aces to go in World Series. So it was a second half moment during the season, a season that I had to perform, a season I had to win.

wuqian0821.com
Red Bull puts in a big i๊nvestment with its drivers, but sets notoriously high standards. Do you feel pressure from Red Bull to succeed?

It's tough. It's very tough. In the end, you have to admit they can permit themselves to be that tough. Why? Because at the end they are paying millions for a driver of 15 years old, 16, and the🎉y don't know if he's going to be a world champion or not. So when they've do this huge investment, they expect you to perform and to win. They are very tough in this area, but you just have to take it and I'm sure that you just want to get on with it because if you ask any other driver in the young categories where they want to be, it's on the Red Bull programme.

wuqian0821.com
W🍒hat has the Red Bull programme given you that you wouldn't have otherwise developed on you♑r own?

Carlos Sainz Jr
Red Bull has g﷽iven me a chance to mature very early. When you have a boss like Helmut Marko and you have to deal with him since 15 years old and you have meetings with him head to head when you're 15 and he's being very tough with you, you become a much, much more mature person since the beginning. You ღare probably mature much quicker than any other 16-17 year old guy my age. I think this is the main thing at Red Bull.

wuqian0821.com
Is out-sc🏅oring Max this season a spe🎃cific target for you?

Carlos Sainz Jr
I don't know where we will be. I think it will be very close between Max and myself. From what I've seen with Max and what I've seen with me, I think we can do a very strong season for Toro Rosওso.

wuqian0821.com
Finally, if I was to sit with you i𝐆n November at the Abu Dhabi Granౠd Prix and we were looking back at the last nine months, what could you look back and say 'that was a great season'

Carlos Sainz Jr
Not too many rookie mistakes, some good points in the bag🀅. Finishing the first four races, finishing them to get experience and it will put me in a goo♛d position for the rest of the year.