F1 News
Sainz reflects on the race which saw him move sixth in the Drivers' standings
Carlos Sainz's good season continued as he moved into sixth in the Drivers' Championship following his P5 at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Spaniard was so pleased with the race that he admitted the only downside was his teammate's bad luck.
Sainz qualified seventh but made up two places and held off a surging Charles Leclerc to secure his third top-five finish of the season. He moved ahead of Pierre Gasly in the Drivers' standings.
Despite the Spaniard's good result, Lando Norris had a tough race ultimately finishing 13th after an incident with Alex Albon hindered him early on. Sainz gave a glowing report on his reflection of the race and admitted Norris' result was the only dampener for the team.
“A very good day in general. Qualifying was extremely strong after leading the midfield on Friday," Sainz said in McLaren's post-race review.
"We secured P7 and P8 clearly ahead of our main competitors. Later, in the race, I had a good start on the inside line and fought again wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton. From there I controlled my pace and went for a long first stint.
“The second stint was especially strong, with very good pace and keeping Leclerc behind to secure another P5. I’m very happy with both results today, quali and the race, and the only downside is that Lando couldn’t finish in the points due to an unlucky situation.
"The team clearly deserved another double-points finish here in Japan. Congratulations!”