Sunday, 7 July 2024
- Race: P5, 52 laps

• Carlos Sainz clinched the best result possible in one of the most eventful races of the season and crossed the finish line in fifth place, after fighting for an even bigger prize earlier on when the track was wet.
• Seventh on the grid, Carlos did a good start and passed Nico Hülkenberg to move up to sixth in the opening laps, when everyone was waiting for the rain.
• The first rain was not very intense, so the Spaniard stayed out on track on slick tyres despite the low grip and how easy it was to make a mistake.
• When the rain intensified, the Ferrari race driver nailed the time of his pit-stop to switch to Intermediates and this enabled him to move up to fifth, in front of Oscar Piastri.
• When George Russell retired, Carlos moved up to a fourth place that ultimately transformed into a fifth in the transition to slick tyres.
• Given that he had room behind, the Spaniard pitted again for Soft tyres in order to go for the fastest lap, which he clinched to gain an extra point for the Championship.

QUOTES:
“Very solid race today and I think we maximized the result with P5 and fastest lap. We executed well a difficult race and under mixed conditions I was able to close the gap to the cars ahead. Unfortunately when the track dried we were lacking a bit of pace and had to settle for fifth. Clearly, we still need to take a step to close the gap with the others. We now have some time off to regroup and come back stronger in Hungary".

COMING UP:
Hungarian GP, Hungaroring – 12-14 July 2024