Carlos Sainz could have packed his bags early in Monaco after a first-lap contact with Oscar Piastri. However, a plethora of accidents and a timely red flag helped him to restart the race in his original P3 slot and cruise to another podium. However, Marc Priestley stated that Zhou Guanyu was the reason the Spaniard was able to unwind his first lap disaster and get a lucky podium in the Principality.
Speaking on one of his YouTube streams, Priestley said, “They hadn’t all gone through that timing line. It was a matter of meters short and it was only I think the last car was Zhou Guanyu, who hadn’t quite crossed that timing line”.
The former McLaren pit crew member then cited how Zhou having a slow start to the race helped Sainz benefit from the rules. Priestly added, “He [Zhou] was the one that allowed Carlos Sainz the option on the stroke of luck to find himself back in third place on the new grid for the restart”.
These kinds of grid order confusion have been happening in F1 due to safety car or red flag interruptions in the past few years. The 2022 British GP start is a classic example of the same. There too, it was Zhou Guanyu‘s massive rolling crash that caused a red flag and all cars had not crossed the first sector timing line.
Even at the 2023 Australian GP, a huge pile-up of crashes on the late red flag restart led to many drivers retaking their original grid slots as many cars had crashed or collided in the first sector itself when the red flag came out again.
Now, at the 2024 Monaco GP, if Zhou had crossed the first sector timing line and had the red flag come out later, Sainz would have started from the back of the grid [P16] at the restart.
However, he and Ferrari benefitted massively due to the circumstances. As the Maranello team inch closer to Red Bull in the standings, Sainz’s P3 finish boosts their prospects.
How Carlos Sainz’s podium has boosted Ferrari in the battle against Red Bull
The Monaco GP was a huge success for Ferrari, as they registered a 1-3. Apart from Carlos Sainz’s podium, Charles Leclerc ended his win drought since the 2022 Austrian GP. However, it was his maiden home race victory that was the special highlight of the weekend for the Monegasque.
While Ferrari celebrated these achievements, this double podium result has immense significance in the broader context of the championship. As Red Bull struggled in Monaco, the Italian team has come within striking distance of the champion team in the constructors’ standings.
Ferrari are only 24 points behind Red Bull and the chatter about a championship battle is heating up. Even McLaren’s improved pace since the Miami GP is helping them cut back the deficit to the Milton Keynes outfit at a rapid rate.
2023 2024: TEAM STANDINGS
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As a result, the upcoming races in the next two months before the summer break are going to be extremely crucial for both these teams. If they can carry on this momentum from the Monaco GP to continue hassling Red Bull, the championship could get very interesting.
Besides, even the Austrian team is admitting to being under pressure with its development, while Ferrari and McLaren are taking big performance leaps. So, Red Bull have a fight on their hands internally with the amount of issues they have experienced in Imola and Monaco besides fighting its rivals.
