Sainz, bittersweet second: “I hope there are more chances to win with Ferrari”

Bittersweet second place for Carlos Sainz at the Formula 1 United States GP. The Spanish driver started third and after the great speed shown in the sprint race and the best tire wear shown by his Ferrari, the Spanish started with the favorites and had a good chance to achieve his long-awaited final victory at Ferrari before the end of his last campaign wearing red.

However, the Madrid native was damaged by the battle between Verstappen and Norris at Turn 1, on the exit. He went to the outside as his two rivals chose to go inside and caught up with Max and Lando in the middle of the curve. He lost traction and Leclerc, who started 4thtook the lead. Sainz, who had more speed than the Monegasque, lost time to Max and suffered a brief engine problem. By the time he got past Verstappen after his first stop, it was too late. He ran away from the race against a Leclerc he could no longer hunt.

However, he smiled when he saw how competitive the Ferrari was, the best on the track Austin. One of the The Americas is a key track to evaluate the evolutions implemented from Monza. On a more representative and normal track, leaving behind the previous urban circuits, the Ferrari is very fast and leaves him with the hope of competing for the long-awaited victory in some or most of the 5 remaining races.

“It was one of those weekends where I felt comfortable in the car. I went very fast, both in the sprint race, in qualifying, and in the race.. And the truth is I’m happy for the team, finishing first and second for the Constructors’ Championship,” the Spaniard told ‘DAZN’.

“On the other hand, there’s little that can happen, because obviously, with so much speed you want to win the race”he added.

“I found myself a bit blocked there at the start and from there I tried to push my pace. Then I tried to pass Max and then I had an engine problem and we lost a few seconds which made me lose the DRS with Verstappen and the chance to pass him. And since then I’ve been very fast and I think I’m the fastest on the hard tire, but it’s not enough because I lost a lot of time in the first stint,” lamented the Spaniard.

“I expect to fight for victory in these 5 races. I hope that there will be more opportunities. Because obviously this seems to me to be one of the best opportunities of the year to win a race before leaving Ferrari and that the reason why you don’t see me so happy today, “But if there are more opportunities I will try to make sure I take advantage of them.”he commented, hopefully.

“I was in a very good moment because I was putting a lot of pressure on Max, who I think was suffering with the tire, and sooner or later we will overcome him. But that’s it, a little problem. AIn the end, I still think it will be very difficult to pass Charles because we are so equal in speed. So I think the key is coming out, being a little boxed in there. But it’s racing. Hopefully there will be many more opportunities and the next one will be ours.”commented on the trouble he had with his engine, with a power outage on the exit of the curves when he attacked Max and a strong smell of fuel that put him on alert.

“It was a decent start, but in Turn 1 there was a battle between Lando (Norris) and Max (Verstappen) which we couldn’t completely avoid and in the end it made Leclerc pass and I suffered a bit in traction. at the corner exit. Then I tried everything to pass Max, I tried two or three times, then we had engine problems and then I lost the chance to stay on his DRS and pass him, and nothing, from then on It’s a pity because the Race is gone and even with hard tires it’s the fastest car, it’s very difficult to make up for lost time,” he added about what happened this Sunday.

Ferrari, the best of the weekend

“It is clear that this weekend we have dominated and we have to be proud for taking advantage of it as we have. We have to see if there will be more races like this. I hope because that will mean that there will be more chances to win, and if not, keep adding because I think the team is doing a really good job at the end of the season.

The beautiful destruction of the Ferrari

“This year, we did very well in the degradation. This year we have a car that allows us to continue the race and yes, for us there was very little degradation, which is something really happy, that allows you to fight in the race , go forward and it allows for a more enjoyable career.

This is how the engine problem was solved.

“It’s not perfect, but you have to trust the team, change some settings on the steering wheel and the problem is immediately solved.”