Sainz: 'Impossible to think of victory when you see Red Bull's pace'

Behind the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, it was Carlos Sainz who managed to claim the remaining podium spot with his SF-24. In Australia, Sainz finished first after a race that saw Verstappen drop out. So this weekend Sainz finishes third in Japan, which he is at peace with. The Spaniard reacts after the race.

Sainz thinks victories for Ferrari are almost impossible in a race with a team like Red Bull. "We kind of knew our race pace was better than our qualifying pace, still probably not enough to go for a win because obviously starting before and given how good the race pace of the Red Bull is, it's almost impossible to think about a win."

Sainz satisfied with podium finish in Japan

The Ferrari driver says that prior to the Japanese Grand Prix, he did sign up for a podium finish at Suzuka. "But I was hopeful of achieving a podium that in the end we managed to achieve, even if it was a very tough race, very strategic. The track condition changed a lot through the race," Sainz said.

"We went from a very sunny track that we hadn't had on weekend to a very cloudy track. The degradation went down a lot and you could push a lot more on the tyres halfway through the race. And yet this changed the whole situation quite a lot. At one point, I thought the podium wasn't possible, but then with a new hard tyres, the pace was mega and I could get back onto the podium," concluded the 29-year-old driver.