Carlos Sainz: “Third place is not enough compared to our expectations”

Started in second position on Sunday, Carlos Sainz finished the Las Vegas Grand Prix in third place on the podium. The Spaniard suffered from the poor performance of his tires on this rather cold track.

« I expected to be strong, but the tires degraded quite quickly. We had to limit the damage towards the end, and I was not as competitive as I had hoped. We leave with a 3rd place, which is not sufficient compared to our expectations, but it was the best achievable today, he declared to Jenson Button’s microphone before stepping onto the podium.

Carlos Sainz also reflected on his incident last year in Las Vegas, when he received a 10-place grid penalty for rebuilding his Ferrari during the weekend… after his car fell victim to a loose manhole cover causing chaos during the practice session. “Last year, I wasn’t superstitious, but I hoped that Las Vegas would have something beautiful to offer me after the events of the past. It’s now part of the past, and I’m focusing on the future. I hope we provided a good show today,” he said.

He also commented on the (courteous) exchange with his teammate during the race. « It was a beautiful battle with Charles, as often these last four years. We have similar rhythms, so it is normal for us to find ourselves fighting regularly. I don’t think we could have hoped for better than 3rd and 4th today. We will give our all to hope to find a good pace in the upcoming races », concluded the Spaniard from Ferrari.