Carlos Sainz walked away from the Miami Grand Prix with a sense of what might have been on a day where nothing quite went right for the Spaniard. He crossed the line fourth, which became fifth after being handed a post-race time penalty – but felt he could have won the race, with one small tweak to his strategy.
Starting third, Sainz had a mega getaway and was well placed on the outside to make a run at race leader Max Verstappen having already nipped past his team mate Charles Leclerc. But after taking avoiding action when Sergio Perez’s Red Bull scythed straight across in front of him, Sainz dropped down to fourth.
That became second on the road when Verstappen and Charles Leclerc pitted early for their one and only stop, behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren with eventual winner Lando Norris behind. But then came the next slice of bad luck – Ferrari calling Sainz in on the same lap as race leader Piastri, one lap before the Safety Car was called.
READ MORE: ‘I finally delivered for them’ – Norris pays tribute to McLaren after ‘about time’ debut F1 win in Miami
“I think today the thing is I did a really good start, I was P2 into Turn 1 and like they say in the old school days, Checo came like a torpedo and nearly took us all with him. We take avoiding action, and I lost the positions for that move,” Sainz said.
News Summary:
- ‘We could have won this race’ – Sainz left frustrated after pit stop timing and penalty costs him in Miami
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