Hakkinen: ''Gasly was lucky, but McLaren wasn't''

Carlos Sainz grabbed his first Formula 1 victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The Spaniard was disappointed and rightfully so, because Sainz had perhaps the best papers in terms of speed.

The Italian Grand Prix was one to remember. With a Safety Car at the right time for a few stragglers and the red flag from the Charles Leclerc crash, victory was at hand for Pierre Gasly. Sainz had been second throughout the race and had to fight his way forward again.

McLaren on his way to the top again

''I was very happy to see Sainz and Norris finish on P2 and P4. Sainz even almost won the race. Wherever Pierre's victory had to do with luck, that was not the case for McLaren. They already qualified as number three and six and outside Mercedes he just had the best performance," says Mika Hakkinen in his column for Unibet.com.

The Finn is happy that his old team is starting to climb back to the top. ''Since I won my championship with McLaren, I have always stayed in close contact with the owners and management. Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl have done a great job in a short time and have built another car that consistently scores points'', concludes the 1998 and 1999 World Champion.