The Miami Grand Prix unfolded with a twist of fate for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who believes that a pit stop under the Safety Car regime could have landed him the race victory.
While Lando Norris capitalized on a lengthy opening stint that extended right into a lucky Safety Car period, which led to a timely pitstop for the McLaren charger, Sainz had pitted a lap earlier under normal race conditions.
This crucial difference allowed Norris to position himself ahead meant that when the crash between Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant triggered the safety car, Norris emerged ahead of the pack to claim his maiden grand prix win.
Had Ferrari delayed Sainz's pitstop by just one lap, he would have found himself in the lead with a clear shot at the victory, leaving him with a sense of what could have been.
"Frustrated, because we were ahead of him before that pitstop before the safety car," said Sainz of his race.
"If we would have extended one more lap, we would've caught the safety car and we could have won the race too."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the unfortunate timing of the Safety Car intervention, saying with a touch of humor "I forgot the crystal ball".
“I was not aware that Sargeant and Magnussen would crash the lap after!” commented the Frenchman.
“Of course, when you are in this situation, you are a bit unlucky – or I would say probably that Lando was a bit lucky, because he was the only one on track.
"But more than this, I think it's the fact that they put the safety car in front of Verstappen. They're so used to have Verstappen leading the pack that they send the safety car in front of him!
"The safety car was quite slow, and it was a very good move at the end for Lando."
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