'Frustrating for me too' - Carlos Sainz airs dismay with 'difficult' F1 rookie situation

Carlos Sainz has expressed his "frustration" with the lack of testing afforded to drivers and teams in modern-day F1.

The Spaniard implored the championship to "do a better job" when it comes to how much preparation is allowed prior to a new season getting underway.

Under the current rules, pre-season testing is just three days, split into two four-hour sessions each. This is precious little time in the car to get acclimatised and best equipped for the campaign ahead.

Sainz is embarking on his first year at Williams and during the test at the Bahrain International Circuit admitted to feeling "lost" at the wheel of the Grove-based squad's new car.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365, the 30-year-old shared his feelings on the tight restrictions, which are a far cry from the extensive testing teams could do in bygone eras.

"Well, definitely it's not enough testing, but we need to work with that," Bortoleto said before explaining he is used to a lack of preparation as private testing was too expensive to afford during his junior career.

On the other hand, Isack Hadjar, whose first experience of an F1 car was during an FP1 session, maintained he felt ready nonetheless.

"I don't feel unprepared at all," the Racing Bulls driver said. "Obviously, it would be nice to have some more mileage to go through some more scenarios, but it's how it is and I [will] learn on the job."

Despite that, Sainz aired his dissatisfaction with the current situation, bemoaning how much more "difficult" it is for rookies than it ought to be.

"I'm wishing them [the rookies] all the best, understanding a bit their frustration with testing, because even though I'm obviously no rookie, that day and a half of testing is frustrating for me too," the Williams driver said.

"But I can imagine [what it is like] for a rookie, I understand how difficult that makes things and how tricky the start of the season will be for some of these guys.

"At the same time, if you could get a TPC car that is relevant, that can still help a lot. But experience is experience, and you only gain that on track with a real car that you're gonna drive that year.

"And I think everyone, if I'm honest, could put a bit of effort into trying to put do a better job in how we go testing."

Sainz suggests curbing simulator use to fund more extensive F1 testing

Taking aim at simulators, which he claims are "not as good" as advertised, Sainz outlined a solution he believes would be the right compromise for F1 - and its rookies.

The Spaniard wants around three times as much testing, arguing the extensive simulator usage could be sacrificed to accommodate his vision.

"You have a lot of teams spending infinite amounts of money in simulators, have drivers flying to the UK from Monaco to go to a simulator," he pointed out.

"And I don't understand why we get three days of testing when all that money could be invested into, I don't know, eight days of testing.

"I'm not asking for too much, eight to 10 days for everything. Is there places to test? It's nice to have a collective test, I think this should stay.

"But my proposal would be to the number of days in the budget cap, the simulator also and see where the teams want to spend their money - if it's in the sim or if it's in 10 testing days.

"The rookies would benefit, and I think F1 teams would benefit, because even though the simulators are good, they're not as good as some of the engineers or people tend to believe they are.

"So I would always choose testing, for these guys [the rookies] also, than [have] the money going towards a simulator."