Carlos Sainz has not had an easy race Sunday in Turkey, but as always the Madrilenian has emptied himself to get the best possible profit in such difficult circumstances. He started 19th on the grid after changing the engine in his Ferrari and finished eighth. Carlos has been the rider who has gained the most positions in his wet comeback, eleven in total. And this despite being hampered by a very slow stop from Maranello, who lost 8.1 seconds.
Sainz he was 16th after the first lap after two good overtaking and continued his ride for the following laps, until passing Lance Stroll on lap 36. But he stopped to put new intermediates and was back on track 10th, behind the Alpine of Or with.
He passed the Frenchman 12 laps from the end, braking at Turn 1, and then he was unable to beat his former teammate Norris, so he had to settle for eighth place. Fans have voted him the ‘Driver of the Day’. “Finally, they had never given it to me … Now Norris and I are alike,” he thanked when he learned of his choice.
Sainz wanted to make a positive reading: “It is not a day to regret. There are so many good things about the race that the slow pitstop that has made it difficult for us to fight for that fifth or sixth position … It is not worth lamenting about it or make no criticism. It has been a race to attack from the beginning, overtaking everyone on the track. They have not given us any overtaking, we had to pass them all, take risks today and have rhythm when it was necessary to have rhythm. At the end it was one of the fastest cars on the track, if not the fastest. And when I’ve seen Lando, Gasly and Charles so close … I remembered those extra seconds from the pitstop … which was a shame. “
In overtaking Vettel, in fact, Sainz He came to touch himself with German: “I have asked your forgiveness, because I was like saying ‘I can’t take off and you wear me’, and it’s true. But with Mercedes engines, either you throw yourself away or you don’t pass them. you pass them on the straight, you throw yourself when braking, “he summarized.
About the fastest lap that he has finally achieved Bottas, the Madrilenian has recognized that “the Mercedes here is the best car. To get the fastest lap in Istanbul would have been perfect, and we were going very fast, but not as fast as Bottas”.
After the strategy of changing the engine in Turkey, now Sainz will have the maximum guarantees to tackle the remainder of the championship: “I think we have done perfect in changing the engine here. More than this, it could not be done. So from here at the end of the year, with a fresh and brand-new engine, already towards the end of the season. We have had two very good last races and we have to continue like this “, he concluded.