Carlos Sainz took home his Ferrari to a third place finish at the 20222 Saudi Arabian GP, but insists he can do even better.
Sainz’s outing at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday was pretty quiet. The Ferrari driver started the race on third, but was lea-frogged by Max Verstappen on the very first lap.
After a safety car spoiled initial race leader Sergio Perez’s evening, the 27-year old found himself back in P3. He ended up spending the entire evening ahead of Perez, and behind the leaders Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc.
It was a third consecutive podium finish for Sainz, having finished 3rd at the 2021 season finale and 2nd at the 2022 season opener last weekend. He also extends his point scoring streak to 17 races; the longest active streak among F1 drivers right now.
Sainz seemed pleased with a third place finish, but admits that he has to find a bit more pace. At Bahrain, he revealed that he struggled a little bit, but has now found a bit more pace in the F1-75.
Also read: Charles Leclerc looks back on his epic battle with Max Verstappen at the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP
The Red Bulls were much quicker on the day, says Carlos Sainz
In the post race interview, Sainz revealed that the Scuderia were running a very high down-force set up in Jeddah. It led to increased pace on the corners, but meant that they lost out on straight-line speed to the Red Bulls.
“The Red Bulls were super quick in the last 10 laps,” the Spaniard said. “They were flying and putting pressure on us.”
“It was a close call there with Checo but in the end, I think he got a bit unlucky with the safety car. But the rules are the rules. I think I was just ahead at the safety car line. It was my position then and after that, it was all about holding onto P3.”
“For me, this race was a bit of progress from Bahrain. I think I managed to find a bit more rhythm with the car, still some tenths to find but I think I will end up getting there,” the Ferrari driver added.
Sainz will go into the next round, second in the Drivers’ Championship with 33 points, behind Leclerc who is now at 45.
