Sainz: I had to save tires at the expense of speed

After Carlos Sainz finished third in Las Vegas, he summarized the weekend’s results…

Question: Carlos, you achieved your eighth podium finish of the season, but not everything went smoothly in the race…
Carlos Sainz: Yes, there were a little more problems than we expected. The Mercedes cars are more competitive on this track, George and Lewis had a good race, but we suffered from a lot of granulation on the tires so we couldn’t really push the tires. We had to take care of the tires, which was at the expense of speed. This time we weren’t fast enough. Not our day.

Q: It looked like you wanted to make a pit stop, but the team wasn’t ready for it. What happened?
Carlos Sainz: On the whole, we have failed in our task. I think we lost Medium one lap later, and Hard two laps later than necessary. Due to confusion with the radio communication in the pit lane, I spent an extra lap on worn tires, which also caused me to lose time in the pit stop, meaning I couldn’t battle with Lewis.

In our sport you have to act perfectly in everything. We have done a good job all year in terms of strategy and race management. But it wasn’t our day. We must draw conclusions and return to the fight in Qatar in better shape.

Question: The battle continues in the Constructors’ Championship, where you are 24 points ahead of Ferrari. How do you see the situation developing in the remaining races?
Carlos Sainz: We must try to make the best of everything we have. In Qatar we will definitely have a hard time, and the McLaren and Mercedes cars will be very fast. Maybe even Red Bull, as they were strong in qualifying in Austin. Next weekend will be difficult for us and that is why it was so important to get the maximum number of points in Vegas.

Question: Max Verstappen has just won his fourth world title. What can you say about him?
Carlos Sainz: Congratulations! He has performed at an incredibly high level for four years. This year he dominated when the car allowed it, and in other races he made no mistakes and achieved maximum points. A well-deserved victory!