Yahoo Autos F1 British Grand Prix Wrap-Up: How Carlos Sainz Jr. Finally Scored His First Victory
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Carlos Sainz grabbed his maiden victory at a scintillating Silverstone that will likely be remembered for Zhou Guanyu’s escape from a horrifying shunt. Autoweek rounds up the main talking points.
Sainz, Finally, Gets His Maiden Victory
There was some fortune involved in this long overdue victory for Carlos Sainz.
First up was being gifted a second start from pole position after initially relinquishing the lead to Max Verstappen at the first start. Next up was Verstappen’s own mechanical issues, which handed Sainz back a lead he had lost after making a mistake through the Becketts turn.
Sainz’s own speed was not strong and he handed the lead to teammate Charles Leclerc. He then received another dose of fortune when the safety car was deployed, nullifying the threat from behind from the faster Lewis Hamilton, and leaving him well-placed on soft tires after Leclerc was kept out on old hards.
The pass for the lead against Leclerc with 10 laps remaining was straightforward and the victory was Sainz’s. Three doses of good fortune? Undoubtedly. Has he put in better performances? Definitely. Yet after years of perseverance, persistence and extreme dedication this was a race to savor for sweet Carlos Sainz. First place never seemed so good.
“I cannot describe it, it’s the best feeling you can have as a racing driver to win for Ferrari at such a great place like Silverstone,” Sainz, 27, said after winning for the first time in his eight-year F1 career and in his 150th start. “It’s a very happy day in my life.”
Damage Limitation for Verstappen
This could have been a very bad day in the office for the reigning World Champion. Leading the race, Verstappen clobbered a piece of AlphaTauri debris that destroyed the left-hand-side of the floor. Red Bull estimated that Verstappen was robbed of around half his downforce levels.
“It felt like the car was falling apart, I thought initially it was a puncture, and after that the car was a handful,” said Verstappen. “To finish seventh with that car was still a good result. Better than zero points that’s for sure.”
Verstappen’s day could have been a lot worse had Ferrari not fumbled.
Ferrari dithered for several laps before eventually instructing Sainz to cede position to the faster Leclerc. From there the win looked likely for Leclerc, but when the safety car was deployed the race leader was kept out on harder tires. Leclerc defended exceptionally in his bid to hold onto position, including an astonishing hang-around-the-outside of Lewis Hamilton at Copse, but ultimately slipped to fourth.
It was an open goal amid Verstappen’s woes but 13 points went begging for Leclerc. Such opportunities won’t arise frequently given Verstappen and Red Bull’s usual potency.
“Before the Safety Car we were extremely quick, we found the right balance, changed a bit the driving, found a rhythm, all was looking good for victory,” said Leclerc. “We decided to keep the lead car out and it didn’t pay off for me. It’s a big disappointment.”
Leclerc was nonetheless noble as he added “I don’t want the focus to be pointed to my disappointing race but more towards (Carlos’) incredible win and the first one is always extremely special.”
