Ricciardo’s mistake cost more than just points

Another failure for Carlos Sainz. Again in the first round. The Formula 1 race in Imola turned out to be a Ferrari disaster. At least Sainz is not to blame for the early end of his Grand Prix in Italy this time. In the confusion of the first lap there was contact between the Spaniard and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo. The F1-75 stalled while the Australian continued his race. The Formula 1 weekend ended for Sainz in a mighty disappointment, for which the Spaniard clearly blames Ricciardo. But there shouldn’t be bad blood between the pilots now.

“In Australia it was entirely my own fault. After seeing today’s footage I know there was nothing I could have done differently to give Daniel more space,” said Sainz. On the first lap, Ricciardo slipped very slightly in the second part of the Tamburello straight ahead, catching Sainz’s left rear wheel. The race management immediately classified the contact as a racing accident.

Although Ricciardo’s mistake cost Sainz the race, the Spaniard is not mad at his successor at McLaren: “It’s no mystery what happened. It’s clear that it was Daniel’s mistake. He came to me in the garage immediately after the race and apologized, so there is no bad blood between us. What happened could have happened to any driver. Unfortunately, it happened to me today,” said Sainz.

Formula 1: Losing points is not Sainz’s biggest concern

The Ferrari driver landed in the gravel bed at the Australian Grand Prix. The second accident in a row has an extremely negative effect on Sainz’s World Championship position. “I’m not exactly depressed now, but of course it’s not ideal. You want to show a strong race, especially in front of the Italian audience. But I couldn’t have done anything about it myself. That’s the sport,” says the Ferrari driver resolutely .

But according to Sainz, the loss of points is not the worst thing about his crash in Imola. Because two early retirements in a row mean that the Spaniard has driven two whole races less than his competitors. “The bad result doesn’t hurt that much when you compare it to the time on the track that I lost. I couldn’t drive the two races, but right now that would be very helpful for me,” explains Sainz, who is have to get used to a completely new vehicle generation. Only the Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel can hold a candle to Sainz when it comes to the missed time.