Carlos Sainz back on the podium: « I had to overtake a lot of cars, it wasn’t easy
With his strong performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz is now just four points behind his teammate, even though he missed a race due to appendicitis.
Great deal for Carlos Sainz in Japan, just two weeks after his victory in Australia. While it was thought that Charles Leclerc would step onto the podium, taking advantage of a McLaren strategy error during a pit stop by Lando Norris, the Spanish Ferrari driver was faster and left him powerless at Suzuka. Starting fourth, Carlos Sainz thus closes in on his teammate by just four points, despite missing a race due to appendicitis.
« I had a great race, I am very happy », he rejoiced before the podium. « It was quite complicated, I had to manage tire wear and at some point, the clouds arrived, the wear decreased. I had to overtake a lot of cars, which is tight here, but I negotiated the chicane well, it went well », he explained.
The Spaniard had a hard time climbing up the grid. I thought it was going to be very difficult to climb back to fourth, third place, it was difficult to pass the Mercedes in the second relay and follow closely, it gave me good confidence to attack the tires.
The next race will take place in China in fifteen days, the return of this beautiful track and also the sprint format. I think it will be a tough weekend for everyone, we haven’t been there for 4-5 years, with a sprint race, it will be interesting to experience. We now have 15 days to recover from the Japanese Grand Prix and prepare for the Chinese Grand Prix, he concluded.
