Carlos Sainz Jr had a race to forget during the Russian Grand Prix. An excellent start from eleventh saw him moving up the grid, but debris from the chaos going through Turn 2 saw his great start lead to a poor race.
He could only bring the car back to finish twelfth after a change in tyre strategy completely threw the young Spaniard’s race.
“Even though I did one of my best ever starts, a piece of another car got stuck in our side pod, which made me lose down force during my first stint and also meant I had to stop too early for my pit-stop onto the Softs. This then compromised my second stint and I then also got a 10-second penalty.”
Sainz penalty was awarded because he pushed Jolyon Palmer off track and did not leave the Briton any racing room. It could be argued that the penalty was harsh for the incident in question but it was a fitting end for a fairly terrible race that had promised so much more off the start. Sainz will be looking to perform better next time out at his home Grand Prix in Spain.
