Carlos Sainz says he "paid the price" in the form of rear tyre degradation for his strong defense against Red Bull's drivers in the Italian Grand Prix.
From pole position, Sainz held his own at the head of the field for the better part of 14 laps but eventually succumbed to the attacks of Max Verstappen.
On lap 15, Sainz locked up into the first chicane which handed the momentum on the exit to the Red Bull driver who drew level with the Ferrari into Curva Grande before claiming the lead as the pair barreled down into the second chicane.
Later in the race, Sainz valiantly defended his runner-up spot against Sergio Perez. But again, the Red Bull eventually came out on top as rear tyre degradation set in on the Ferrari.
"Very tough, very tough. It cannot get any tougher than what it was today," commented Sainz on his early battle with Verstappen.
"Honestly, the whole race, pushing very, very hard to keep the Red Bulls behind. That obviously made me use the rear tyres a lot, trying to keep up with them and trying to get them behind.
"In the end, I end up paying a bit the price with the rear tyres, but I did everything I could to defend with all the cars that I could."
Sainz's reference to "all the cars" included his teammate Charles Leclerc with whom he enjoyed a momentous scrap in the closing stages of the race to secure his first podium of 2023.
"I think we just need to keep working on our pace, on our tyre understanding," said Sainz who highlighted the clear step forward achieved by Ferrari in Monza.
"Today, it was obvious that we were wearing the tyres a bit more and we were just lacking a bit of pace.
"But it's definitely a big step forward compared to Zandvoort. This weekend, we've been best of the rest, which is good result for the team given the circumstances."
And best of the rest also allowed the Scuderia to seize third in F1's Constructors' standings, to the detriment of Aston Martin.
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