Breaking news
Formula 1 German GP
"Bitter" Sainz backs McLaren strategy despite lost podium shot
Carlos Sainz said it felt "very bitter" to miss out on a chance at his maiden podium in the chaotic German Grand Prix - but backed his McLaren team's cautious strategy.
Adam Cooper Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 30, 2019, 8:31 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sainz had put himself in position to score big points by being one of the few drivers to forego a fruitless switch to slicks in the early stages of the race, which allowed him to recover from an early off.
However, while he was keen to roll the dice late on and equip dry tyres, McLaren opted to play it safe - and while Sainz ended up a strong fifth, he lost out to midfield rivals Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll, who had gone through with the gamble.
"During the safety car i said let’s go on the slicks but at the same time it was too risky so I perfectly understand that we didn’t pit because no one did actually out of the top five cars," Sainz recalled.
"I did have the feeling it was the right thing but at the same time it was very risky so I back the team totally and when you see Kvyat celebrating a podium and Stroll in front of you and they were really far behind [earlier], it feels very bitter right now.
"But at the same time, I don’t think we would’ve done anything differently. We just did everything perfectly and the guys who had nothing to lose, just took a decision - a risky decision - that turned out to be right."
McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said the team had to prioritise simply getting points on the board given the race of attrition had already claimed some of the usual frontrunners, as well as both cars from McLaren's main midfield rival Renault.
"Towards the end of the race, seeing who dropped out, and that the Renaults also dropped out, we played it conservative, staying in line with what was happening at the front, and obviously the two cars behind took the risk and benefited from it, so well done to them," Seidl said.
“In the end what made the great result for Stroll was taking the gamble from P14 to go on dry tyres two laps earlier than anyone else, so well done to them.
"From our point of view we didn’t want to take a risk at this point, because you could crash out and then you have a different discussion after the race.
“When you speak to Carlos, he’s disappointed, but given where we have been in the middle of the race we can be very happy with P5.
"And again, with the calls towards the end of the race we simply played conservative, because for us it’s more important to score the points on the table, especially with a race weekend like that, with our main competitors dropping out, [rather than] trying a gamble from P5 to go for glory.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Marko rules out Red Bull replacing Gasly mid-season
Next article FIA believes Leclerc fine won't lead to more pitlane risks
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Carlos Sainz
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
More from
McLaren
McLaren to introduce 2027 F1 front wing at Brazil GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
18 h
McLaren to introduce 2027 F1 front wing at Brazil GP
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Latest news
Esteban Ocon's F1 career may be ending, but his story is one of success
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 8 min
Esteban Ocon's F1 career may be ending, but his story is one of success
“We let him down” – Mercedes takes blame for George Russell’s Mexico GP heartbreak
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
46 min
“We let him down” – Mercedes takes blame for George Russell’s Mexico GP heartbreak
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
11 h
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicence quest continues
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
11 h
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicence quest continues
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe