Carlos Sainz Jr. thinks he could have harvested a much bigger maiden points haul than the two he picked up for securing a ninth place finish in the Australian Grand Prix.

Lining up seventh on the grid, the Toro Rosso debutant was running well into the top ten during his opening stint when a very slow pit stop dropped him out of the points-paying positions.

The 20-year-old Spaniard was still able to climb back through the reduced field and looked set to clinch P8 only to be overhauled by Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber in the closing stages of the race.

This does not prevent Sainz from savouring his first championship points, with the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 champion generally having the upped hand over rookie team-mate Verstappen in Australia.

“I’m very pleased to have scored my first ever Formula 1 points in my debut race here in Melbourne!,” said Sainz. “Obviously, we know there was much more potential than a P9 today but, all in all, if we take into account everything that happened, we need to stay positive, keep improving and believing in ourselves because we know we can do better.

“The slow pit-stop was a tough moment for the whole team, as we were in a very good position and lost quite a lot of time. From then onwards the race changed and it was just a matter of bringing it home without problems.”

Click here for the full gallery from the Australian Grand Prix

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

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

McLaren to review Sunday's fateful pit stop timing

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about its…

11 mins ago

Williams' Boutsen hoists the mainsail in Adelaide

On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…

1 hour ago

Horner: Max 'answered critics' with epic Sao Paulo GP drive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…

2 hours ago

Sainz left puzzled by double crash drama in rainy São Paulo

Carlos Sainz was left scratching his head after a disastrous Sunday at the Sao Paulo…

3 hours ago

Alonso pushed through agonizing pain to complete Sao Paulo GP

Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix,…

5 hours ago

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

19 hours ago