“Excited” Sainz has “nothing to lose” starting from last in F1's Turkish GP

Sainz will be forced to start from last after Ferrari confirmed he will run the new specification of power unit in Turkey.

Teammate Charles Leclerc was forced to do the same last time out at the Sochi Autodrom and was on course to finish inside the top 10 until the late downpour made for a chaotic end to the race.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, Sainz is confident of cutting his way through the field.

“It actually doesn't feel that bad, Sainz said. “If you're going into the weekend with a new PU that is hopefully bringing a bit of performance and a bit of development to the team, I cannot be disappointed with that.

“Obviously you pay the price of having to start last but I have a pretty good record of starting last and coming through the field in these last few years, so I'm kind of excited [for] it, because your focus is mainly on preparing the race, making sure that the car is well set up for the different compounds and the different conditions that we have in the race, with high fuel etcetera.

“So it's actually okay also to have a different weekend now and then and a different approach, and I find it actually exciting and with nothing to lose. You go into a weekend worse than last and you’re starting last. There’s nothing to lose so you can risk it more.”

The low grip track surface made for an exciting race last year as Lance Stroll stormed to his maiden pole in qualifying, while Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race and claim his seventh world title.

While Sainz expects the grip levels to be better, he is hopeful conditions in Turkey are “extreme” to give him a better chance of fighting through the field.

“I think we are all expecting the grip to be better than last year,” Sainz added. “It would be quite a surprise to have the same conditions as last year, as last year was very, very difficult. Very difficult to understand why the grip was so particularly last to a point that in the race we were quicker on an intermediate than a slick so that’s why we stayed on a slick intermediate.

“It’s going to be interesting. We are all expecting the grip to be better. How much better, that's a different question. If it's more like Portimao, where the grip is not high but it's okay, then it should be good fun. If it's like Barcelona or Silverstone, really high grip levels, then it should be also quite exciting because then the tyre wear could be an issue.

“So maybe for my personal interest, I want the extremes, and the more extreme, the more different things can happen – and maybe more opportunity comes for me.”