In a grand prix totally monopolized by the extreme duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the comeback made by Carlos Sainz perhaps overshadowed.
The Ferrari driver yesterday saw his weekend get complicated immediately when he lost control of his SF21 in turn 11 and ended up barely touching the protective barriers with his rear wing.
The right endplate folded, thus losing some load points at the rear, and as there was no time to replace the entire aileron, the team decided to get Sainz back on track to try to pass Q2 without, however, succeeding in the ‘business.
The fifteenth starting position forced Carlos into an attacking race and thanks also to the numerous accidents, interruptions and neutralizations that characterized the Jeddah GP, the mission was completed.
Sainz, in fact, ended the race in eighth place by dueling on several occasions against his teammate Charles Leclerc and when he reached the microphones of Sky Sport F1 HD he admitted that the penultimate round of the season was one of the most complicated to deal with.
“It was a tough race both physically, but also mentally due to the two red flags. It wasn’t easy. In any case, I managed to compete in an attacking race ”.
The regret for what happened yesterday in qualifying, however, tormented Sainz even at the end of the race. Indeed, the Spaniard admitted that without the mistake on Saturday today’s result would have been very likely different.
“Today I could have finished in the top five without yesterday’s mistake, but staging a comeback like the one I achieved was very nice.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, in battle with Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In the final Sainz was the protagonist of a new, intense battle with Leclerc lost a few meters from the finish line that left a minimum of bitterness in the mouth of the Madrid player.
“It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to finish in seventh position, but the race was really positive”.
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