Carlos Sainz was a happy man at the end of the US Grand Prix, following a cracking race and a superb performance which saw the Toro Rosso driver collect a sixth place finish.
The result equaled the Spaniard's personal best since his graduated to Formula 1 in 2015. It was a hard-fought battle all afternoon however for Sainz who spent the first half of the race around P8 before getting best of Felipe Massa and progressing all the way up to 5th.
The latter part of the event saw both Alonso and Massa breathing down the Toro Rosso driver's neck, and eventually the McLaren driver put one over on Sainz, stealing fifth from his compatriot in the process on the penultimate lap.
Regardless of losing his battle with Alonso, Sainz ended his afternoon at the races a very happy man.
Today's result is a very special one, a top, top, top result!" enthused Sainz Jr.
"What a boost and what a way to motivate the team and keep our heads up. I don't know what this track has, but I just get such a good feeling every time I race here! It's a weekend I will always remember!
"To equal my best result in Formula 1 makes me very happy. It is a bit more special than the one in Barcelona because here we didn't think we really had the car to do so – our simulations before the race said we would only finish in P11 or P12.
Sainz attributed part of his remarkable performance to tyre management, and making the most of his soft-shod Toro Rosso in the latter part of the race while his direct rivals were running on the Medium compound.
"We were able to make the tyres last during the first stint, staying close to the Williams [of Massa] and then managed to create a good gap to Fernando on the Softs.
"We also got a bit lucky with the VSC period, which was great news for us. We knew it was going to be very difficult to get to the end on the Soft tyre, but we committed to that – during the last two laps I had no tyre left and just had to hold on to it as best I could!
"I'm so happy, you just can't imagine what's going on inside me now, even if I'm not showing it on the outside, I'm delighted! I will definitely celebrate with champagne, for me this feels like a win!"
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