Sainz accuses Latifi of having deprived him of the victory in Monaco

Carlos Sainz once again came close to his first Formula 1 victory. The Spanish driver finished in second place in the Monaco Grand Prix, behind Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. However, the Ferrari driver could have achieved more than just another podium on the streets of the Principality.

Leading on the 22nd lap, even though he hasn’t made a pit stop yet, Sainz goes through the pits to exchange his wet tires for hard compounds. Sergio Perez, who is closely following him on intermediates, also has to make a stop to change to slicks. The Spaniard must then complete a quick out lap to ensure he stays ahead of the Mexican, who stops one lap later.

Only, Sainz leaves the pits just behind the Williams of backmarker Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian does not move out of the way despite the blue flags urging him to let the leaders pass. Latifi decides to let the Ferrari pass at the entrance of the tunnel, but it is already too late: Sergio Perez leaves the pits just in front of Carlos Sainz.

The Spanish, who was calling his team to “clear this guy out of [his] way” on the radio, is still fuming, even though a pass in front of the Mexican could have possibly allowed him to take the lead.

« You can understand the frustration and feeling I experienced, because I knew that my race was decided on that pit exit lap. As I exited the pit lane, I slipped on the wet part and [Latifi] managed to sneak ahead of me. » Carlos Sainz regrets.

« Knowing that I was leading the race at that moment, he could have perfectly stayed behind me instead of overtaking me, especially since I had to stay on the right side of the yellow line, which some others had trouble doing.

» continues the Spaniard, clearly targeting the two Red Bull drivers who crossed the line, which is prohibited but was not penalized despite Ferrari’s request.

« I had to follow [Latifi] through turns 3 to 8 and at the exit of turn 8, he cleared in the tunnel. But by that time, I had already lost tire temperature and the time to make a difference on the slicks. And just because I was stuck behind the slowest car on the grid at that time, it cost me the opportunity to stay ahead of Checo after the pitstop. » Sainz fumes.

You can therefore imagine my frustration, you can understand my screams on the radio to make him get out of my way, but for an unknown reason, it took longer than expected.

With this second place, Carlos Sainz imitates his result from last year where he achieved his first podium with Ferrari behind Max Verstappen. But this great result remains quite frustrating for someone who is chasing his first victory in the premier category despite already having ten podiums.