Mixed feelings at Toro Rosso for Sainz and Verstappen
After impressive qualifying performances by Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen on Saturday, both drivers quickly fell back during the race. The Spaniard still managed to save two points with a 9th place finish after a tough battle against Daniil Kvyat.
Once again, the race for the two Toro Rosso drivers was complicated, and the hopes of scoring big points this Sunday were dashed after an impressive qualifying session that saw Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen start from the third row of the starting grid.
For the young Dutchman, it’s a race to quickly forget: « It was a tough race today. It was very hard on the rear tires. On top of that, I had to manage the blue flags at the end of the race, which put me in a difficult position. It wasn’t the race I hoped for after the good qualifying on Saturday. »
His Spanish teammate managed to save a few points, those of the ninth place, achieved after a tough battle at the end of the main straight against Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull: “It was a tricky moment. I had the DRS and I was able to overtake Daniil before turn number 1,” he explains after the race. “It’s nice to be able to add two new points at the end of my first home race. It was a complicated race today and I was a bit disappointed at the start when I saw that my fifth place on the grid didn’t bring me more. But I kept a cool head and started saving my tires very early in the race, which allowed me to attack in the last five laps and cross the finish line in ninth place.”
To note, the race direction has decided to classify the contact between the Russian and the Spaniard as a racing incident, so they receive no penalties.
