Sainz happy despite pace difference to Red Bull: 'Still a good result!'

Carlos Sainz claimed P3 in the Sprint, finishing behind only the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, after starting from fifth on the grid. The Spaniard is happy with his performance in the rainy conditions but is aware of the difference in pace with the Championship leaders.

"I think they were maybe a bit quicker, but there was a point in the middle of the race when we were passing Hulkenberg that maybe I felt a bit more confident," Sainz explained to Naomi Schiff after the Sprint race, before adding: "Then the track dried up, I degraded my tyres a bit, and then I couldn't really stay very close to Checo in third, but it's still a good result, and a good day for me today, so we will try and put it together tomorrow again."

When questioned about the wet conditions at the Red Bull Ring, the Ferrari driver explained how hard it was to get used to the intermediate tyres after not using them at all during the weekend so far: "[It was] tricky conditions out there, especially because it's the first time that we run with the intermediates over the whole weekend, so you never know what to expect from the balance and the grip on the track."

Finally, he said that "the Red Bulls were just a bit too quick for us today" after "struggling a little bit in the high-speed corners at the beginning of the race, then I managed to gain a bit of pace back, and I could stay close to Checo."