Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsToro Rosso

Sainz rues lost points after 'dramatic' weekend

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Carlos Sainz says he is disappointed to miss out on points after a "dramatic" weekend having been running in seventh place in the Russian Grand Prix.

A heavy crash at Turn 13 in FP3 saw Sainz airlifted to hospital but he was given the all clear following scans and discharged on Saturday night. Having passed the FIA's medical tests, Sainz started the race from the back of the grid and had climbed in to the top ten with an impressive performance before brake problems caused two spins, the second of which also came at Turn 13.

With his car damaged in the incident Sainz was forced to retire and he says it was a frustrating end to such a difficult weekend.

Sainz crash recorded at 46G

“Definitely a bit of a disappointment to retire from the race after being in P7 and we could have been P6," Sainz said. "We were holding a great rhythm, great pace and after starting last with all the dramatic things that happened to me this weekend to be P7 was very positive.

"I really wanted to make it to the end. That’s why from lap 20 I knew I had a problem with the brakes, the car was not decelerating very well and also I was saving the brakes a lot. Then eight laps from the end I think it was they went off and I crashed again!”

And Sainz says he felt dizzy at one stage of the race, but attributed the feeling to trying to warm his tyres while weaving behind the safety car.

“A bit of a disappointment for sure, although I’m happy to be here after doing a good race and a good performance today in difficult conditions. I started in P20 and after ten laps I was feeling a bit dizzy because I was doing so many esses behind the safety car to keep the tyres warm! But after ten laps I started to feel good again, started pushing and suddenly found myself in P7 with great rhythm and great pace going to the end.”

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AS IT HAPPENED: Russian Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.