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Second “doesn’t taste as good as it should” for Ferrari – Sainz

2021 Monaco Grand Prix

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Carlos Sainz Jnr says that finishing second at Monaco “doesn’t taste as good as it should” after team mate Charles Leclerc was unable to start the race.

Sainz took his first podium for Ferrari finishing second behind Max Verstappen. While Sainz says Ferrari should be “proud” of their weekend, he admits that the team’s satisfaction was dampened by the problems that befell his team mate.

“It is a good result,” says Sainz. “I mean, if you had told me before coming to Monaco that I would have finished second, I definitely would have taken it.

“The whole circumstances of the weekend – having Charles on pole, me missing out in qualifying yesterday on a good lap – it maybe doesn’t taste as good as it should. But I’m sure when I reflect back on the weekend, I’ll be very happy and proud of the weekend. I think Ferrari, as a team, they need to be proud about the car and the step they’ve done this year.”

Sainz says the confidence he felt in his car’s performance helped him to handle the pressure of having to carry all of Ferrari’s hopes for the afternoon.

“When you see the other car not starting from pole, all of a sudden the responsibility falls on you to salvage the weekend,” says Sainz.

“One car is out, starting from pole, and you want to give the team at least a podium. It was all about getting the start right and there was a lot of traffic around the pit stops, we were lapping the cars very quickly. Obviously Valtteri [Bottas] had the problem in the pit stop, but even without that I was feeling very confident in the car today and I felt the team at least deserved a podium this weekend.”

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2021 Monaco Grand Prix

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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15 comments on “Second “doesn’t taste as good as it should” for Ferrari – Sainz”

  1. This was Ferrari’s only chance for a win this year and they squandered it. Ultimately it were the drivers that cost the team. Leclerc made a bad mistake (that he has repeated in the past, Baku 2019) and Sainz should have qualified on the front row. Very disappointing.

    1. True, it’s a shame, sainz was 70 milliseconds faster than leclerc up until the 2nd sector, he could’ve been on pole.

  2. Good attitude to have. He’s right, this should have been a Ferrari win given their pace all weekend. Sainz first outing in qualifying Q3 was too slow and Leclerc obviously had another crash that ruined his weekend; both made costly mistakes. Purely looking at today though Sainz can be quite pleased. He made the most of that starting position and kept a good pace throughout the race.

    1. @cashnotclass Agreed, fairly mature comment and still a very good result for him.

  3. Not enough. Just not enough. Noob team.

    1. Sainz is detached from reality. He is the Massa of Schumacher, the Bottas of Lewis. Shouldnt get his expectations up, he is not going anywhere since he choose to retire at Ferrari

      1. Back to Renault or McLaren for him?

  4. May be u should change position with Bottas, sure you’ll feel better there.

  5. Leclerc s crash is not same as Baku 2019 . It happens compared to last year his driving has been more consistent and this is only his first mistake this year . Also he celebrated podium with team. I am sure Baku 2021 he will ace it and score good points

  6. So Gasly was given a 10 second time penalty for starting outside of his grid spot last race in Spain but the FIA are just totally going to ignore Verstappen’s improper start today? I am really surprised Ferrari has not raised any concern. With that 10 second penalty, Ferrari could get first place in Monaco.

    Max was clearly positioned ahead of the yellow line as it can be seen in these pics:
    https://twitter.com/Chew_baxter/status/1396467957295890435/photo/1
    https://twitter.com/_camposcody/status/1396471226219081732/photo/1

    1. I thought the yellow line was just a visual marker for the driver since he can’t see the white box, which is the actual start area. But I’m not sure.

      1. Pretty sure you are correct. There is a sensor that activates and lets race control know when driver is too far ahead. In Verstappens case he was more than likely on the very limit, wheras Gasly’s case he was like half a car over the line.

    2. @okif1 …your photos just show the car is not out of it’s grid box, Gasly was out of the grid box.

    3. F1oSaurus (@)
      24th May 2021, 11:28

      @okif1 Gasly was in front of the white line that’s even further ahead than the yellow line.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y93IGaZ4nDk

  7. Ben (@scuderia29)
    23rd May 2021, 23:15

    Definitely a missed opportunity for Ferrari, but a 2nd place is still a great result. Leclercs mistake was unnecessary considering everyone else had gone slower or already given up their lap (except for maybe sainz?) fortunately they’re not in a title fight so the lasting effects of a lost win are minor, hopefully lessons learned for 2022 and beyond when MAYBE the team can position themselves to fight for titles again.

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