Sixth in Monaco, Sainz continues McLaren’s march forward!
The Spanish driver consolidated his team's fourth position in the Constructors' Championship with a fine sixth place in the Principality.
The team that has made the most progress compared to last year is undoubtedly McLaren. After a disappointing 2018 campaign, this season seems to be the year of revival for the Woking team. The proof is this Monaco weekend, which marks Carlos Sainz’s third consecutive points finish.
Starting 9th on the grid, the Spaniard made a good start, overtaking the two Toro Rosso cars, Alexander Albon and then Daniil Kvyat, on the climb up to Sainte-Dévote and then the left-hand curve of Massenet before the Casino, one of the best overtakes of his career.
On the heels of Gasly’s Red Bull throughout the first stint, Sainz stayed on track longer than his two rivals behind him. The Spaniard maintained the advantage after the two Toro Rosso drivers made their stops. Additionally, the Madrid native even shone with the fastest lap of the race for a short while, with a time of 1’15″890.
If he did not keep up with Gasly, Sainz managed to keep the two Toro Rosso cars behind him throughout the race, to bring eight points to McLaren. Naturally, the main party involved was pleased with this somewhat unexpected result achieved in the Principality.
Thanks to my mechanics, I had a good pit stop. Then, I defended for a lap against Kvyat and in the end, it was about managing the tires to bring the car home. These are important points on a track that wasn’t really suited to us!
On his side, Lando Norris faced more difficulties this weekend in Monaco. Eliminated in Q2, the young Brit moved up to 10th position, before his only pit stop on lap 47, switching from mediums to softs. Rejoining in 11th behind Ricciardo, the 2018 F2 vice-champion couldn’t improve his position until the finish.
With Sainz’s performance, the British team retains the coveted position of best of the rest, fourth, with 30 points. Better still, the gap is widened with the team ranked fifth, Racing Point, which has only 17 points. Among the drivers, Sainz proudly holds 7th place overall, behind the six drivers from the top teams. Norris is not left out for a rookie, 11th in the standings, with 12 points.
That start from @Carlossainz55 🔥😯 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/7w2HVhB58O
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 26, 2019
