A magnificent defense by a true team player. Carlos Sainz played a major role in Charles Leclerc and Ferrari’s victory at the Italian Grand Prix, sublimating a great team strategy with a defense that ultimately helped his teammate take home the win in front of the Ferrari fans.
Both Carlos and Leclerc opted for a single stop. A gamble, especially given the amount of graining the teams had already seen during the free practice sessions between Friday and Saturday. Yet, in order to win, the Ferrari pit wall had no qualms about taking the gamble. And it paid off.
“Today we did everything we could to win,” Sainz immediately told Sky Sport. “I’m happy that the team took a risk. We did it a lot, but we won and that was a very difficult thing to predict. There was a lot of graining with all the compounds, but we managed it.”
Sainz doesn’t feel he played a role in Leclerc’s victory, but his defense on Oscar Piastri made the difference. The McLaren driver only got closer to Leclerc, but without being able to take advantage of the slipstream that, in Monza, is very powerful and influential in the battles between single-seaters.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“I think the victory is 99% Charles’s, he’s the one who did an incredible job winning a difficult race to win. As for me, when I saw everyone stopping so early for the first pit stop, like the McLarens did, I was the only one to stay on the track with the Mediums.”
Regarding his strategy, Sainz is happy to have tried. Even if at the end of the race he found himself complaining about the choice to stay on the track 5 laps more than McLaren and Leclerc. This made him lose those seconds that could have guaranteed him a podium, the last one with Ferrari before moving to Williams in 2025.
“I thought it was the right strategy to be the only driver to do a one-stop. Then it turned out that I lost too much time in those 5 laps that I did more than the others, because the tyres were already very ruined. I lost the 7 or 8 seconds that cost me the podium. But I was happy with that strategy and I’m happy I tried it. The important thing is that the strategy worked for the team.”
“It was a pleasure to experience Monza as a Ferrari driver in these 4 years. One of the most special weekends of my life also in the future. Even if today I am not with Charles on the podium to celebrate I am still very happy for the team and for Charles’ victory”.
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