Carlos Sainz feels P2 was the best he could achieve at the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP after being outpaced to finish by Mercedes’ George Russell.
The Spaniard started in P5 for Ferrari and was able to climb up the order in the initial laps. His soft tires were a huge help during the 24-lap sprint.
Carlos Sainz dued with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen towards the end of the race and the Ferrari man was able to overtake his former teammate. Sainz, however, did make contact with the reigning world champion and ended up damaging the front wing endplate of the RB18.
In his post-race interview with Naomi Schiff, Carlos Sainz was quick to note the improved performance of Mercedes, who are locked in a battle for P2 in the constructors’ standings with Ferrari. Hey said:
“Yeah, we normally have a bit more deg (degradation) than the Mercs (Mercedes) and I could see them pushing quite hard and I managed to make all the positions at the start or the first couple of laps, getting into the fight with Max [Verstappen] and George [Russell]. I had to be aggressive because obviously tomorrow I am taking the penalty and in the end, I think P2 was the maximum today. I was happy with the race, happy with the pace. It’s just that the Mercs look like they picked up the pace a lot recently and they are very quick in the race.”
“It was on the limit” – Carlos Sainz apologizes for 2022 F1 Brazilian GP Sprint overtake on Max Verstappen
Carlos Sainz offered an olive branch to Max Verstappen with an on-air apology after damaging the latter’s front wing while attempting to overtake the Dutchman.
When asked to explain what happened during the incident between the two, the Spaniard said:
“Well, it was on the limit for sure. They are so difficult to pass and I had to really go tight into Turn 1 in order to pass him with the Red Bull, you are either aggressive under braking or you don’t pass them because they are so quick on the straight that you really need to go for it under braking. I am sorry if I had a bit of contact but that’s racing and sometimes you need to go for it if you want to make it stick.”
Carlos Sainz was then asked to share Ferrari’s plans for the race, considering that he will start from P7 owing to a five-place grid penalty incurred for taking on new PU components. Hey said:
“I mean, we have decent pace this weekend. It’s just that the Mercs [Mercedes] maybe have a little bit more pace. It will be interesting to see tomorrow what happens when we all try the medium like Verstappen today. See how that medium behaves and obviously we would need to pass them on track tomorrow because I am starting P7. I think Charles [Leclerc] is starting P4 or P5. So, we are going to need a good race if we want to beat them.”
Ferrari will need to try and maximize their points haul, especially since Mercedes will have both cars starting on the front row as the battle for P2 in the Constructors’ standings heats up.
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