Sainz on disagreement with pit wall: "They have more data than me"

Carlos Sainz finished fifth in France, turning a difficult weekend into a spectacle. The Spaniard became Driver of the Day and made the most of it. Afterwards, the Ferrari driver said he was happy with the result.

Sainz had to fit new parts to his F1-75 in France due to his broken engine in Austria, for which he received a grid penalty. With his team-mate Charles Leclerc having retired, Sainz rejoined the race under the Virtual Safety Car. He ultimately failed to make the podium, but a P5 was more than enough to earn him the title of Driver of the Day.

The problems and chaos on the pit wall and in the pit lane at Ferrari did not help Sainz. There was turmoil on the team radio as both team and driver disagreed on the timing of the pit stop. Sainz had already received a five-second penalty during his previous pit stop when he was sent back onto the track by his team in an unsafe manner. Alexander Albon just managed to avoid the Spaniard with a heavy brake.

Sainz told Viaplay: "It was a pity with the penalty and the slow pitstop. Because we were doing a good comeback, a good recovery. It has been a very good in terms of pace. P5 with the fastest lap is the perfect race. Possibly we achieved a podium, but it is also important that we have a good race. We need to be happy the car was nice to drive. My feeling in the car was okay, but at the pitwall the have a lot more data than me to take a decision."