Water bottle issue unsettles Sainz's afternoon

40

Renault's Carlos Sainz struggled to reach the end of Sunday's Australian GP after a faulty drink bottle forced him to ingest too much water, making him feel nauseous.

The Spaniard ran in the battling top-10 at the outset but drifted back a spot as he started to feel uncomfortable. In the end, he painstakingly managed to hold on to the last position in the points but it was a challenging afternoon for the 23-year-old.

"I had the drinks bottle pumping water through my mouth since lap one and I was drinking and drinking and drinking and I just got full of water in my stomach,” he said.

"I wasn’t feeling good with the stomach with all the water inside, going from side to side it was very difficult.

Hulkenberg sees P7 as just reward for Renault's hard work

"At some point under the Safety Car I nearly had to vomit, so from there on it was just about making it to the finish. It is a bit unfortunate."

Early on in the race, Sainz enjoyed a good tussle with childhood hero Fernando Alonso to whom he eventually lost out. The Renault driver was happy however with the overall performance of his R.S.18

"It’s unfortunate but we just need to learn from it," he said.

"It was a positive start, I’m happy with the performance over the weekend.

"I think I could have done much more without the problems and with better car handling in the first stint. We keep learning and we’ll be putting the work in ahead of Bahrain."

Team mate Nico Hulkenberg also collected his share of points on Sunday, bringing his car home in P7.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.