Saniz explains second place in Monaco: 'That was the problem'

"I think we did good management of the race, on my side at least. There were a few tricky calls to be made like pitting for inters or staying out and I was quite keen on staying out until the slicks. That gave me the race lead and the opportunity to win the race. I would have won the race if I had a cleaner out lap. Unfortunately, a lapped car for 10 corners didn't get out of the way and I was slow on the out lap and it was enough for Checo to overcut me."

At the end of the race, Sainz was driving so close behind the Mexican that he still seemed to have a chance at victory, but nothing was further from the truth. Perez kept the spaces well closed and thus gave Sainz no opportunity to pass him. "There was nothing I could do to pass him," said Sainz.

Leclerc finishes behind Verstappen in Monaco

His teammate Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, was very frustrated with the race. The Monegasque, who is second in the world championship, started the race from pole position and eventually finished in fourth place. With that, frontrunner Max Verstappen runs further down the rankings.