WATCH: Carlos Sainz turns in his first F1 laps for Ferrari

Carlos Sainz recently turned in his first laps for Ferrari in his Formula 1 testing debut for the Italian outfit during a five-day test at Fiorano.

It marked the Spaniard’s first experience for driving for his new team since making his winter switch from McLaren.

Driving Ferrari’s 2018-spec SF71H provided the two-time podium finisher the opportunity to get up to speed and accustomed to the team’s procedures ahead of the upcoming 2021 F1 season.

You can watch footage from his debut Ferrari F1 outing below in our latest video…

It was an important and valuable exercise for Sainz, with pre-season testing cut to just three days of running this year, meaning drivers will only get 1.5 days of running each behind their cars before the first race in Bahrain.

Due to Ferrari’s car being more than two years old, there were no restrictions on its test usage, allowing Sainz to log 150 laps for the team. In total, Ferrari’s drivers completed 500 laps - the equivalent of 1500 kms.

Sainz described his “extensive” maiden Ferrari outing as a day he’ll never forget.

Ferrari is looking to bounce back from a woeful 2020 campaign, in which it failed to win a race and slumped to sixth place in the constructors’ championship, marking its worst result since 1980.

Despite Ferrari’s dramatic form slump, Sainz has insisted he has “full confidence” in the team’s ability to recover from its dismal season and return to the front of the grid once more.

The Spaniard has acknowledged that such a drastic turnaround is unlikely to happen this year, given the development restrictions in place and chassis carryover from 2020.

But Sainz is confident about the future and is setting himself the ultimate target of becoming world champion at Maranello.

What do you think Sainz can achieve in his first season at Ferrari? And how will he shape up against Charles Leclerc? Let us know in the comments below…