Carlos Sainz started the Belgian GP Sprint from P3 on the grid, but in a race full of interruptions due to rain, the Spaniard ended up suffering. He finished the race in fourth, which seemed like a decent ending considering where he found himself after the first lap. Nonetheless, Sainz wasn’t happy, and let his Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami a piece of his mind after the race.
The start of the Sprint on Saturday got delayed due to rain, and when the drivers did get underway, they had to follow the safety car around for three laps. When the safety car came in, however, a huge portion of the field including Sainz pitted for intermediate tires. This made him drop down to P15, which he was visibly upset about.
Who else can’t get over @Carlossainz55’s move through Eau Rouge? 🔥 🙋 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ri7S0g9k5U
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 29, 2023
Sainz started ahead of Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly. Still, when he came out of the pits, he found himself stuck behind all three drivers. He made up places and overtook Perez towards the end. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for him to finish in the top three. There were multiple things Sainz could have been upset about at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday.
Carlos Sainz upset with Ferrari and his Sprint result
Sainz dropped all the way down to P15. From there, he made his way up to P4, but it was only because several drivers ahead of him pitted for intermediate tires after him. On top of that, Lewis Hamilton got a five-second time penalty for colliding with Sergio Perez, and the Brit was right in front of him.
As soon as the race was over, Adami took the team radio to tell Sainz that he did a good job. The Madrid-born driver, however, didn’t seem to think so. As per Ferrari News, he replied by saying, “Not good. I warned you.”
📻 | Carlos Sainz post Sprint radio:
Ricky: “Good job! P4.”
Carlos: “Not good. I warned you.”
😬
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) July 29, 2023
Sainz did not reveal what he warned Adami and his team about. However, it is possible that the 28-year-old was unhappy with the race start procedure.
Sainz wanted the Belgian GP Sprint to start differently
The start of the Belgian GP Sprint got delayed because of heavy rainfall. When it finally, cleared, race control decided to have the cars follow Bernd Maylander’s safety car around the circuit for a few laps to get rid of the spray. This, according to some sources, did not sit well with Sainz.
According to Team 55 on Twitter, Sainz told his team on the radio that the FIA was making a mistake. According to him, they should have waited five more minutes. This would have avoided the laps behind the safety car, that took time away from him to make any moves later on in the race. The fact that they knew there wouldn’t be any more rain seemed to annoy Sainz even more.
🇧🇪#BelgianGP: 📻 | Sainz came on the radio to suggest to Ricky that he thinks that the FIA should wait 5 extra minutes for the rain to clear instead of starting sooner and doing 5 or so laps behind the safety car. Especially because they know there won’t be more rain.#F1Sprint
— Team 55 (@Team55_) July 29, 2023
Despite the initial tumbling down the order, Sainz regrouped to finish P4. He finished just ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth. In tomorrow’s race, Sainz will start from fourth on the grid, while Leclerc starts on pole.
