Sainz backs Hamilton: 'A red flag would have been fairer'

Carlos Sainz thinks it would've been fairer for Lewis Hamilton if there had been a red flag after Nicholas Latifi's crash in Abu Dhabi. According to the Spaniard, the rules need to be looked at closely.

Sainz still managed to grab a podium during the last Grand Prix of 2021 after Sergio Perez's retirement gave the Spaniard third place, but he could not fight for more. The Spaniard didn't see the lapped cars in front of him disappear.

Indeed, race control decided to remove only the lapped cars between Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Sainz on his soft tyres would have liked to have been behind the duo. "With the lapped cars in between I couldn't fight for the win. Especially if they had hit each other", Sainz said in conversation with Spanish Marca.

Sainz didn't get that chance and so he had to settle for third place. Looking back on the situation, Sainz does hope the sport learns from the denouement in Abu Dhabi. "For Hamilton it would have been fairer if there was a red flag. Then when you do a final they are both equal", the Ferrari driver concluded.