Toro Rosso: Sainz got off to a better start but still has to give in to Verstappen
Distanced in the first few corners, Max Verstappen nonetheless clawed his way back to finish 8th. He finished just ahead of Carlos Sainz, who gradually lost ground in the race.
The turmoil of the start did not benefit Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver had to quickly abandon any grand ambitions at the start of the Grand Prix after being relegated to the middle of the pack due to a poor start. However, he managed to deliver an exemplary race to outpace his teammate at the finish line. He might have even threatened Lewis Hamilton if the race had lasted one or two more laps: “It was a race full of action!” reacted Verstappen at the finish. “After the start, it was very difficult, and the Safety Car did not help us as I lost even more ground with our two pit stops, which meant I kept coming back into the pack. But I stayed calm, overtook my rivals one by one, and in the end, finishing in eighth position is something I would not have believed at the start of the race. I also think the team did a great job in terms of strategy.”
On the other hand, Carlos Sainz, although well ahead of Max Verstappen when the Safety Car came out, was once again dominated by the Dutch prodigy. He managed to seize ninth place from Valtteri Bottas on the final lap, thus ending on a positive note: « What an exciting and lively race! There is a lot of action here today – we had battles with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, and these are the kinds of battles we want to experience. Finishing ninth doesn’t equate to a big haul of points, but it’s good to finish with both cars in the top 10 on our scoreboard. We might have finished a bit higher, but we lost a lot of time behind Force India in the pit lane during the first stop. Overall, the race was very entertaining, and we were able to make a lot of overtakes, and our pace was decent. »
In the constructors’ standings, Toro Rosso has closed to within one point of Haas, currently in fifth place.
