Sainz 5th in Germany: «We made the right decisions at the right time »
Carlos Sainz was one of the few drivers on track in Germany to make very few mistakes. Despite the chaotic conditions, the Spaniard finished the race in 5th place.
7th in qualifying, Carlos Sainz made it to Q3, unlike his British teammate, Lando Norris, who was only 16th. It’s hard to blame the young McLaren protégé when you consider the pace of the MCL34, which was much lower than in previous weekends. The papaya car was 5 tenths slower on a timed lap compared to its rivals Alfa Romeo, Haas, and Racing Point.
In the race, the rain was going to complicate things. Losing two places at the end of the first lap, he was running in 9th place for a good part of the beginning of his race, before going wide, like many drivers, at the notoriously infamous turn number 16. A mistake that cost him a lot of time but was eventually quickly regained thanks to the number of neutralizations that occurred during the Grand Prix.
Running a good part of the race in 5th position, the McLaren strategists lacked boldness and preferred to follow the group even though a podium was within reach. « Obviously, the podium was there and now it’s easy to say we could have done it, but when we were fifth under the safety car, it was very difficult to pit for softs; no one around me was stopping. We decided not to stop, and the guys further back had more leeway to take that risk. »
Not too many regrets for Carlos Sainz who finishes in the points for the fourth consecutive time and the seventh time this season. Another flawless race for driver number 55 who wanted to thank his team after this chaotic race: « In general, we made the right decisions at the right time. Smart race and well managed under stressful conditions, so congratulations to the team.
Even though Lando Norris was forced to retire due to a mechanical failure, the former Red Bull program driver brings 10 points to Woking, which are essential in the battle for the best of the rest. Only 7 points behind Gasly and about twenty ahead of Kvyat, Sainz is the undisputed leader of this secondary championship. McLaren also holds a prime position. With Renault and Alfa Romeo scoring zero points at Hockenheim, the British team finds itself 28 points ahead of its closest pursuer, Toro Rosso.
WHAT A RACE! P5 is a great effort. Good job from the team on a stressful day. I obviously wanted the podium, but to pit for slicks was a very tough call given our good track position. We’ll keep pushing.#carlo55ainz #GermanGP@McLarenF1 @EG00 pic.twitter.com/p4qAHibpBX
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) July 28, 2019
