Coming into the first corner, the Spaniard attacked Lewis Hamilton from the inside and made full use of the curbs.
Although his move paid off as he passed Hamilton and jumped from fourth to third, the Mercedes driver had too much pace and was overtaken by his rival a few laps later.
Said Sines: “I think I got him from the inside.”
“It was tight because if I got stuck or something, I took Charles and Lando with me because it was a very tight angle, but I did a little Monaco Lowes turn and it worked! We were always very tight on the first lap. .”
Sainz was delighted to finish 4.4 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen and 4.4 seconds behind Norris in the race without a safety car.
He told the team after the checkered flag that it was “surprising” to be so close to McLaren.
“To be honest, after seeing how hard we fought against McLaren and Mercedes yesterday, if you had said we would fight against them today, I would have been very happy.”
“We should have done better with a good, solid pace, especially considering that Lando got ahead at one point in the first stage. “I don’t think we discovered anything new today, we ran our own race and were very fast. , so I’m very happy.”
Sainz, who lost to Leclerc in qualifying, says he felt he did well in the sprint race and the main race.
“The body in person [sprintte] I felt I did a good job with the soft rubber. That’s why I was relatively strong in the race this weekend. “It’s something to consider in qualifying because my qualifying in the last few races hasn’t been anything special.”
“But I’m fast in the race, I was fast in Suzuka, I was fast here, now I have to focus on getting my speed back in qualifying and continue to work well in the race because the race pace is solid. . I pushed hard today and good tire management. I was doing.”
Photo: Zak Mauger / Motorsport films
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23
Unlike Leclerc, Sainz used the default two-stop strategy and while his team-mate was disappointed to drop down the order, the Spaniard had no complaints:
“I think we worked well. In the first sector I destroyed my front tire trying to keep up with both Lewis and Max and the TRS. It was clear that it was going to be a double pit stop for me, which I definitely wanted. Two pit stops and then, to be honest, I lost my tyres. .” “I felt like I could push it, and I was pretty solid at that point.”
“Yes, for me the first stage was uncontested and after the second stage I was able to manage the front much better. And I was very quick.”
Sainz admitted that recent Mercedes updates, which allow Hamilton to chase Verstappen in the main race, will make it harder for Ferrari to finish second in the constructors’ championship.
“Yes, I agree,” Sainz said: “But I didn’t expect our limits in this car, how bad our driving was and how much we jumped, our tire wear and race speed. This weekend is great.”
“We’re very upset about it, not just the jumps, but the poor handling of our car.”
“Yes, if I have a bit more time in the non-sprint weekend, I can definitely make the car a bit faster and a bit better for the race.
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