Carlos Sainz says he pulled out all the stops on race day this year in a bid to compensate for his under-performance in qualifying.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard, who switched to Renault in the latter part of 2017, ambitioned to lead the mid-field charge from the outset this season with Toro Rosso.<\/p>\n
Sainz scored nicely indeed over the course of his 16-race final sting with the Faenza-base outfit, achieving his best result in Singapore with a fourth-place finish.<\/p>\n
But his aggressive approach, while mostly efficient, also led to mishaps, missed opportunities or grid penalties for on-track clashes with others.<\/p>\n
“Definitely this year I’ve been more aggressive,” said Sainz.<\/p>\n
“I needed to be more aggressive to get points, especially as we were not qualifying in the top 10 in Toro Rosso this year, so you had to be a lot more aggressive on Sundays.<\/p>\n
“That might have meant I got a couple more retirements than maybe I have wanted, maybe a couple more retirements than in the previous seasons, but I think it’s paid off.<\/p>\n
“If you look now at the championship standings, and my points, with the opportunities I’ve had, I think it’s been a very positive year.”<\/p>\n
Sainz also believes his aggressive stance on Sundays and the subsequent results were instrumental in helping him secure his drive with Renault earlier than expected.<\/p>\n
“I always said I’ll do my thing and I’ll do it depending on my situation,” he said.<\/p>\n
“If in 2015 I was risking a bit less it’s because I wanted to learn, I wanted to do all the races, I was having a lot of retirements and I wanted to finish races.<\/p>\n
“If in 2016 I was still a bit conservative it was because I had a reason to do it and if in 2017 I [was] more aggressive it’s because I had a reason to do it.<\/p>\n
“I wanted 2017 to be a special year, to take my opportunities and to make this chance where I am now in Renault to happen.<\/p>\n
“I knew that to be in Renault at the end of the year I needed to do some special things to shine a bit more, to risk a bit more.<\/p>\n
“To get into the top 10 starting from 11th or 12th [on the grid], I knew I had to risk more.”<\/p>\n
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers<\/p>\n