The driver from Madrid was facing the first race in the history of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix after having suffered a serious accident in the second free practice session on Friday, which obviously undermined his morale.
However, appealing to the comeback spirit of his football team, Real Madrid, he managed to bounce back on Saturday and finish on the front row of the grid, just behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
At the start, the Ferrari driver lost second place to reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who ultimately won the race, and was unable to keep up with the two world favorites throughout the race.
Sainz had to settle for fighting for the last place on the podium with Sergio Pérez, and although he kept him at bay at all times, a bad stop by the Italian team put him in the sights of the Mexican. With the departure of the safety car caused by the Lando Norris accident, the Spaniard was left in the hands of Checo, who was wearing new tires and was ready to pass him.
However, after the start, he was able to act like a wall and did not let himself be overcome, even when Pérez dived on the inside of turn 1, where he responded with another line in which he returned to his podium position.
As he crossed the finish line, Sainz shared his impressions, saying: “I’ve been better, obviously, after the accident on Friday, I still had a bit of pain in my neck going into the race.”
“I had to manage it, and I fought against it, especially with Checo [Perez] at the end on the medium tyre, it was very difficult to keep him behind, but we managed to keep the podium, which is a decent result,” he continued.
“I started from the right area and it was going to be complicated, I warned yesterday, and it was very close to be able to hold the position of Max [Verstappen], although the main thing was to finish the race. I was able to do a clean and without problems, and It was time to take it easy after Friday’s accident,” he assured.
“In the race, Red Bull has been stronger than we expected, but now it’s Barcelona and we will bring improvements, so we’ll see if we can hold them,” said Sainz about the following appointment on the DAZN F1 microphones.
In the podium ceremony, the drivers were quite physically affected, and the fact is that the heat was a key factor, both for individual performance and for that of the car. In this way the Spaniard from Ferrari explained how this was: “It has not been easy at all. It has been a tough race with the tires due to the heat.”
“The car was moving, and it was sliding a lot, but in the end, we got what we deserved, which is a decent third position, and we can increase from here. I want more, but it’s not bad,” said the driver from Madrid, who is still looking for his first victory in Formula 1.
