Carlos Sainz could not get close to Sergio Pérez’s best time in qualifying and had to start from third position in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the clear objective of trying to come back and dreaming of his first victory, which in the end did not come.
The Spanish Ferrari driver made a good start, but was cornered by his teammate in the first corner and that made him lose the ideal line, leaving the door open to a Max Verstappen who came from behind with the knife between his teeth. and that relegated him to fourth place.
When he began to stay in no man’s land, the appearance of a safety car after an accident with Latifi gave Sainz the opportunity to gain a position, to the detriment of a Checo Pérez who went from first to fourth place in just one lap.
During the rest of the race, the man from Madrid defended himself against the Mexican driver and finally managed to cross the checkered flag in third position, achieving his second podium of the season and the third consecutive in Formula 1.
As soon as the grand prix was over and despite getting a worse result compared to the first race in Sakhir, Carlos Sainz assured that the sensations had been much better and said that he had noticed a step forward that is promising for the rest of the the season.
“This race represents progress and a step forward compared to Bahrain , because today I felt a little more comfortable with the car, I was able to push a little more and I know perfectly well in which corners something is missing, but we have identified it and what Let’s work on it a little bit, I think I’m going to get closer.”
“In these first races it’s important not to lose too many points while I’m not comfortable and I think I’m doing well. Doing two podiums with a car that I’m not driving like last year and I’m not comfortable, I think it’s important, To the one who has the car a little more to my liking and learns to drive it a little better, these points will serve for the championship,” he added.
The Spanish rider also wanted to highlight Leclerc ‘s maneuver at the start that prevented him from gaining one or two positions and taking the lead after a great start.
“It was a difficult race, I started well but Charles [Leclerc] closed me a bit and I couldn’t overtake having started a little better than them, but well, from then on I suffered a bit with the media and then with the hard ones went a little better”.
Third place was decided by centimeters, specifically those that separated Pérez and Sainz when the Spaniard left the pits and both crossed the line of the Safety Car.
Although the Mexican gained the position at that moment, a lap later he had to return third place to the Ferrari driver, since it was Sainz who had started a few centimeters ahead as was shown in the replays.
“It was very tight with Checo (Perez) , I think he was unlucky with the safety car, but the rules are the rules and I think I was ahead of him going through the safety car line.”
“From then on it was a question of securing that third place, because the Red Bulls were very fast, they were flying and they were putting us under pressure,” he concluded.
