83557530c1a8ad72b198ffa08ed987112ac519b2

Sainz takes dig at lack of Renault-power: "Honda shows that it's possible"

11:23, 10 Oct 2018

byNicolás Quarles van Ufford

Departing Renault driver Carlos Sainz Junior has taken a dig at his current team's power unit, as the Spaniard doesn't understand why it can't progress in terms of performance like Honda have done.

Sainz managed to salvage a single point from the Japanese Grand Prix in the final stages of the race, as he overtook the Honda-powered Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly to secure tenth place for the current number four in the constructors' championship.

Still, he's not happy with the way the engine under the bonnet of his RS18 is performing, he's explained.

“I just think we need more power, which we don’t have and we don’t get it for whatever reason,” Sainz was quoted by GrandPrix247.

“If we wanted to be in Q3 in Japan we just needed more power, and Honda has shown that it is possible.

“I think there was a big setback with probably the engine side - we didn’t expect Ferrari and Mercedes to do such a big step through the year.

“We thought that the B-spec was probably going to be just enough, but we’ve seen at the moment that it is not enough.

"We brought things to the chassis, probably the chassis is not that bad, but on the top speed side we are not where we want to be.”

Sainz be driving in a Renault-powered car again next season, although it won't be at the works team itself. He'll take his talents to McLaren, where he'll be replacing his fellow countryman Fernando Alonso, who decided to retire from F1. Sainz will team up with Lando Norris, who will make his debut in F1 next season alongside the Madrilean.