Sainz mulled giving Alonso DRS boost against Hamilton

©Ferrari

Carlos Sainz says he considered lending a helping hand to Fernando Alonso during the Alpine driver's fight with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, in order to try and protect his position among the top-three.

Having side-stepped the first corner mayhem at the Hungaroring, Sainz settled among the top-five when the race was restarted. The Ferrari charger then progressed up to third in the second half of the race, just ahead of the battling duo of Alonso and Hamilton.

As the fight intensified in the race's final stages, Sainz was tempted to let Alonso within the one-second window that would trigger the Alpine driver's DRS, which would have perhaps delayed even further Hamilton's overhaul of both drivers.

However, the Spaniard had a few issues on his mind that precluded him from putting such a plan into action.

"Yes, of course I did consider it," Sainz said. "Obviously we are racers and we are considering every kind of scenario to stay ahead.

"What you guys probably don’t know is that I was having to do a lot of fuel saving. I was also quite weak in the last corner because I was struggling a bit with the tyres towards the end.

"And the combination of having to fuel save into Turn 1 and being weak in the last corner meant that in the end, I took the decision not to risk my position with Fernando.

Read also: Ferrari discards Leclerc's Hungary engine - penalty looms

"We will never know if I took the right choice, but thinking about it at the time, my feeling was to play safe and try to pull away from Fernando to make sure that I tried to do all the fuel saving and Lewis would take more time to catch me."

While Hamilton took the better part of ten laps to get the measure of the feisty Alonso, he got the upper hand over of Sainz almost immediately.

Sainz and Alonso thus crossed the checkered flag respectively fourth and fifth, but both drivers moved up a spot in the provisional results following the disqualification of Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel who had finished P2 on the road.

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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.