Monaco F1 podium “doesn’t taste as good as it should”

The Spaniard delivered a controlled performance on the streets of Monte Carlo and took a strong second place behind race winner Max Verstappen.

But he was Ferrari’s only race starter after Leclerc was forced out of the race when the team discovered a problem with the driveshaft before the car got on the grid.

Leclerc had crashed in qualifying on Saturday, but the team had given him the all-clear to keep the gearbox instead of changing it and getting a start penalty.

After Leclerc was out before the start, Sainz felt even more stressful and the weekend could have gone even better for him and his team-mate.

“That is a good result,” said Sainz after the race. “If you had told me before you arrived in Monaco that I would have finished second, I would definitely have taken it.

“But it’s just the whole circumstances of the weekend: having Charles on pole, I missed the qualification yesterday, on a good lap, that maybe it just doesn’t taste as good as it should.

“But I am sure that when I think back on the weekend, I will be very happy and proud of the weekend. I think Ferrari as a team has to be proud of the car and the step they took this year. “

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Sainz had been third behind Valtteri Bottas in the early stages, but improved one place when his Mercedes competitor retired due to a problem with his right front wheel during a pit stop.

When asked if his mindset was different in the race because of what happened to Leclerc, Sainz said, “It is. I mean, when you see the other car that doesn’t start from pole, the responsibility suddenly lies in trying to save the weekend.

“One car is out of pole position and you want to give the team at least a podium. It was all about the right start and there was a lot of traffic around the pit stops and we lapped the cars very quickly.

“Of course Valtteri had the pit stop, but even without it I felt really good with the car today. I had the feeling that the team deserved at least a podium this weekend. “