Sainz has mixed feelings after P2: "Without red flag I would have won"
F1 News
Carlos Sainz is yet to take a victory in Formula 1 and with the current course of events at Ferrari, it seems that next year will not be his year either. However, the Spaniard was very close today at the Monza circuit and finished P2.
"Of course, I'm delighted with second place. In addition, I have mixed feelings, because the victory was very close. I think we had bad luck with the red flag. I think without the red flag I could have celebrated my first victory in F1. But I did my best to get that result. I really got everything out of it today. I pushed as hard as I could and I did my best to finish very close to P2. I should be happy about that," said Sainz to Ziggo Sport.
"I knew there was a chance of victory, which is why I was so eager to get past Kimi Raikkonen in a hurry. With the Safety Car, I was the first car to stop legally. I knew Lewis Hamilton would be punished. Then all of a sudden the red flag came and I was P6 on the same tires as the rest and that was a used set of mediums. That was disappointing to say the least. I was very angry at that moment. Then I said to myself, just grab them, I don't care. I had a great pace all day and soon I flew to Pierre. In the dirty air in these cars, it's just hard to follow. I almost got him," the Spaniard continued.
No influence by new FIA rule
"Abolishing party mode has nothing to do with this. On a normal day, Lewis would have just won here, I think I could have taken P2, we had a lot of speed today. I quickly had a five-second gap on the rest. I was really impressed. After the Safety Car, I was also suddenly P1, but then that red flag came. It was a roller coaster of emotions and I'm also happy to see Pierre and Lance on the podium," McLaren's driver concluded.