Carlos Sainz’s aspirations for victory at the Miami Grand Prix were thwarted by a series of setbacks, leaving the Spaniard frustrated with missed opportunities. Despite initially securing fourth place, a post-race time penalty demoted him to fifth, compounding his disappointment over what he felt could have been a winning performance with a minor strategic adjustment.
Starting from third on the grid, Sainz made an impressive start but was hindered when Sergio Perez’s aggressive maneuver forced him to take evasive action, resulting in a drop to fourth position. While running second after the early pit stops of race leaders Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, a mistimed pit stop call by Ferrari on the same lap as race leader Oscar Piastri, just before the deployment of the Safety Car, dashed Sainz’s hopes of a potential victory.
Expressing his frustration, Sainz reflected, “I did a really good start… Checo came like a torpedo and nearly took us all with him. We take avoiding action, and I lost the positions for that move. If we could have extended for one more lap, we could have won this race like Lando did.”
After the restart, Sainz found himself trailing Piastri but with a faster pace on the hard compound tires. Despite persistent efforts to overtake, he was unable to make significant headway, resulting in a challenging race to reclaim lost positions.
Sainz’s discontent grew when he felt he was forced off track during a wheel-to-wheel battle with Piastri, further exacerbating his frustrations. An attempt to overtake in Turn 17 led to contact between the two drivers, prompting Sainz to secure the position, albeit too late to challenge for a podium finish.
Reflecting on the race, Sainz voiced his frustrations, stating, “Frustrated with the start, frustrated [with the Safety Car], frustrated with Oscar because he ran us off track and we had contact.” Despite his disappointment, Sainz acknowledged his former teammate Lando Norris’s maiden victory, conceding, “Congratulations to Lando… He deserved a win for a long time, and today was his day.”
In conclusion, Sainz lamented, “Looking at my race, I would say the opposite, it wasn’t my day.”
