McLaren can’t afford mistakes in Turkey – Sainz

Carlos Sainz has warned he and his McLaren team “can’t afford to lose any opportunity” at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, insisting every minute on track is crucial in the fight for third place in the constructors' championship.

Renault, McLaren and Racing Point are separated by just one point in the fight for ‘best of the rest’ behind Mercedes and Red Bull, but at a track that F1 has not visited since 2011 it will be vital to make no mistakes.

“The fight for third in the constructors’ is insanely close, I don’t remember a tighter battle in the midfield in recent years,” said the Spaniard. “We can’t afford to lose any opportunity and every session of the weekend is important.

“Extracting the most from the car starting on Friday and into quali can make a big difference for the race. Every little detail can have an impact.”

This is the fourth ‘new’ track in a row, after the return of the Nürburgring and Imola and the debut of Portimão, and Sainz has picked up points in each one so far, with fifth, sixth and seventh.

The team has collected 28 points in the last three races compared to 30 for Racing Point and 36 for Renault, and with Renault in impressive form Sainz knows they are in for a fight to the finish.

To add to the challenge, the track surface at Istanbul is new and that will lead to an evolution of grip throughout the weekend as rubber builds up on the surface, so what works in one session may not work for the next.

Sainz added: “I don’t think anyone would’ve predicted us to race at Istanbul Park at the start of the year but it’s great that we are. Hopefully we can bring home a good result. With only four races left we need to keep focused.”

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