Carlos Sainz Rues Lost Podium Following Contact With Sebastian Vettel at the Austrian Grand Prix

During the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this month, there was an awkward moment involving Carlos Sainz and the Ferrari duo. The McLaren man battled Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc for a position when they tangled.

Apparently, Leclerc managed to overtake the McLaren, but Sainz fought back and dove around the outside.

Sensing an opportunity, Vettel tried to sneak down the inside of the McLaren and follow his teammate past. However, Sainz slammed the door in his face and Vettel could not back out in time.

The end result was the two clipping each other and Vettel being sent into one of his notorious spins.

What did Carlos Sainz say about the incident?

The Spaniard suggested to Sky F1 that that slight contact could have cost him the podium. This was because Leclerc finished in P2, and Sainz knew that he had the pace to keep up with his future teammate.

However, he did not blame Vettel at all and knew that the German had no intention of colliding with him.

Carlos Sainz is insistent that the prospect of joining Ferrari has not intimidated him. He knows that filling the shoes of a 4-time World Champion is always going to be a tough ask, especially with his experience.

The Spaniard insisted that Vettel is one of the best F1 drivers and will go down in history as one. Crucially, Vettel has been a reference point for Carlos Sainz, since he raced in the junior team.

So, it is practically a dream for him to try and emulate Vettel’s career.

Coming back to the subject of Ferrari, he can take comfort in the fact that filling in for Formula 1 behemoths is not particularly new for him. To be precise, he effectively replaced compatriot and idol, Fernando Alonso at McLaren.

So, in other words, there is no pressure on him to excel at the Maranello-based outfit.

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