Sainz Keen to move on from Las Vegas after P6 finish

Sainz Keen to move on from Las Vegas after P6 finish

Carlos Sainz was keen to overcome the difficult Las Vegas Grand Prix after recovering from a first-lap collision with Lewis Hamilton to finish sixth.

Sainz had a difficult start from 12th on the grid, struggling into Turn 1 on the first lap, sliding behind Hamilton and having to replace a damaged front wing.

He was at the back of the field and found himself battling with both the Aston Martin driver and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull team before breaking into the top ten.

After the safety car was called to clear debris from his collision with George Russell and Max Verstappen, Sainz pitted again in the evening and overtook Alex Albon to take seventh and win thanks to a five-second penalty Russell’s.

Asked if he was happy to finish sixth after a difficult start, Sainz replied: “Yes, I almost died after a lap and considering I had a crash on lap one, it was a good recovery for P6.

“Overtaking wasn’t easy today with the cold engine and damaged tires at the back of the car, but we managed to fix it and limit the damage.”

Sainz finished second behind teammate Charles Leclerc, but had to start from 12th due to a 10-man penalty. However, he believes the speed shown by Ferrari could have upset winner Verstappen if he and Leclerc had gone from the front.

Sainz said: “I wish we were on the front line. Or I wish we were on the front line with Charles and made Max’s life a little more difficult.” “I think with two Ferraris the race will be more interesting than ever.

“But in the middle of the peloton, we had a lot of problems with overheating tires, pellets and overheating the engine. “But we’ve still recovered well and can’t wait to get to Abu Dhabi and forget about this weekend.”