Carlos Sainz races to third place in the Principality, although the Spaniard was actually already out after contact with Oscar Piastri – that’s how the lucky restart order came about
Charles Leclerc wins his home Grand Prix in Monaco on Sunday, but the “luckier” of the two Scuderia drivers in the race in the truest sense of the word is team-mate Carlos Sainz
The Spaniard was actually out of the race after the start and a podium was a long way off after slight contact with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri: with a puncture, Sainz shot straight ahead in the Casino corner and the entire field passed behind him, with the exception of the Haas drivers and Sergio Perez who were involved in the accident.
But it was precisely this crash on Casino Hill that saved Sainz, or more precisely the effects of it on Sauber driver Gunayu Zhou: because the rules of the premier class clearly state that in the event of a red flag, the subsequent order is “taken from the last point where it was possible to determine the position of the cars”.
However, because Zhou was held up by the accident and the debris in front of him, the Chinese driver had only reached Massenet when the red flag fell. The timing line of sector one at Mirabeau, which all the other cars still in the race had already crossed, was therefore out of the question as a reference point.
Instead, it was the second safety car line, which in Monaco is located at the end of the pit exit after turn one. As a result, race control only had the option of taking the result from there for the restart, which is why Sainz was allowed to rejoin the grid for the restart in his original third place, which he subsequently defended to the finish.
Slight contact, big impact, even more luck
After the race, Sainz is aware that he was lucky after his initial collision at the start: “I had a really good start and therefore the opportunity in turn one, but I got a bit wide with understeer, trying to hold the place against Oscar. That was pretty much the only chance to overtake here,” says Sainz.
Although the contact was only slight, it was not without consequences, as the Ferrari driver reports: “Oscar and I somehow have a magnet between us at the moment. I don’t understand why, because we get on well and everything is okay, but at the moment we always find each other on the track,” grins the Spaniard and reveals: “The contact was so light, I didn’t even feel it. “
At the exit of the first corner, however, he immediately noticed the puncture: “It was just a small cut in the tire, otherwise there was no damage,” reveals Sainz: “It looked like my race was over. So yes, bad luck with the puncture, but I was really lucky to get third place back and then be able to contest the rest of the race from there. “
Pressure for Piastri, joy for Leclerc
At the front, however, there was not much left, said Sainz, who preferred to save himself another risky attempt against Piastri after the crash at the start: “Lap one showed that in Monaco it’s always a bit all or nothing when you risk a maneuver. But the temptation was obviously there and I also had small opportunities, but never a real chance,” said Sainz.
The Ferrari star explains: “After making sure that Lando didn’t have a gap at the back for a stop for mediums to attack me at the end, I increased the pressure for a few laps. I said to myself: ‘Okay, maybe I’ll get him into a mistake this way’, because I knew that overtaking was impossible. “
“And yes, we did put pressure on him, I could see his rear end getting loose a few times. But it wasn’t enough to get past,” says Sainz. Nevertheless, he can live with the outcome on Sunday, not only because of his third podium in the last four Monaco races, but also because of his team-mate Leclerc’s victory:
“To see my teammate, who is Monegasque, on top of the podium here, in front of his home fans, the tifosi and the mechanics, is one of the best images I’ve seen in Formula 1,” congratulates Sainz: “I’m very happy for him and the team. He deserves it, because he drove at an incredible level all weekend. “
