F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is\u00a0it\u00a0being\u00a0held?<\/a><\/p>\nIn the nine races since Formula 1 returned from its summer break, Norris has five podium results with one retirement, one disqualification and two races in the points but off the podium.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s been in good form recently, Sainz admits it is by no means a done deal.<\/p>\n
Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Abu Dhabi, Sainz was asked for his thoughts on the title-decider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do have an interest, obviously, and I will be following very closely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone knows how well I get on with Lando, and obviously I wish Lando the best possible outcome. In that sense, I also have a lot of respect for Max and Oscar, and I wish them the best.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think Abu Dhabi is a Lando track. I think he\u2019s not lucky, but I think it is good for him that I think the finale is in Abu Dhabi, though, which is from my experience being his teammate here is one of his best tracks\u2026 The win he took last year in front of me still hurts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe dominated last year race in front of me, and I knew it\u2019s a Lando track and it\u2019s a McLaren track, so I think he plays with that advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill going into it last weekend, having to finish on the podium is never easy, even if you drive a McLaren.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think he needs to execute a perfect weekend, and I believe given how well he\u2019s responded under pressure recently, I think he can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sainz was Norris\u2019 first teammate in Formula 1 when the now 26-year-old made his debut with McLaren in 2019.<\/p>\n
They spent two seasons together before Sainz moved on to Ferrari, forming a close bond based on racing and golf, leading to the pair being labelled \u2018Carlando\u2019 on social media.<\/p>\n
Sainz says his former teammate always had pace, but is now a more all-round driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think at the time, obviously, what I saw immediately from Lando was unbelievable skill to drive the car at the limit and put together really good qualifying laps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, I\u2019ve been teammates with Charles [Leclerc], with Max, Lando, been teammates with all the top guys, I think, in the grid by now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell Lando has nothing left in his tank in terms of speed; I think speed is as quick as anyone, and quicker even than anyone on his good day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what he\u2019s developed the most is that consistency you see through the year; being strong in tracks that maybe he wasn\u2019t that strong in his first couple of years, versus me. And now, when I look at his driving and how strong he is everywhere, he\u2019s developed that skill that comes with more experience, which is to be quick in every circumstance, in every track.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he\u2019s a more of an all-rounder, for sure, than what he was in the first few years, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s any quicker than those two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you arrive in Formula 1, you\u2019re as quick as you can get, and then it\u2019s all about developing the skills of how to be quick in every type of corner or in every type of track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Mat Coch<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read next: Hamilton v Rosberg Abu Dhabi? McLaren warned of a repeat with Piastri and Norris<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Needing only a top-three result in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Lando Norris to secure a maiden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[75200,49,48,3020,578,576,577,1613,591,590,44,22395,82,1196],"class_list":{"0":"post-324731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-abu-dhabi-grand-prix","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-carlos-sainz","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula1","15":"tag-home-page","16":"tag-lando-norris","17":"tag-mclaren","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-popular","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-williams"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}