Despite George Russell’s Apology, Carlos Sainz Slams FIA for Taking It Too Easy on Mercedes F1 Star

After a near-perfect qualifying on Saturday, Carlos Sainz, who bagged the pole in Austin, was amongst the favorites to win the US GP. However, George Russell had other ideas as he took out the Spaniard in the very first corner of the race. Despite Russell apologizing to the Ferrari driver, Sainz is not happy with the FIA. Carlos believes the FIA left Russell off the hook for his incident.

The US GP was full of drama from the get-go. George Russell took out the pole sitter in the first lap of the race as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arguably benefitted from the Ferrari driver’s exit. While Verstappen won his 13th race of the season, Lewis closed the gap to Sainz in the driver’s standings.

The Spaniard was clearly not happy about the incident. He enjoyed a terrific week at COTA after securing just his second career pole position. Sainz explained that the FIA was ‘too merciful’ with the Mercedes driver.

Sainz said, “You expect an incident like this in midfield, where there are a lot of cars, but I haven’t seen it that often in the top four. And that’s why I was so frustrated after the race.’ His British competitor did apologize soon after the race.” [Translated from Google Translate]

He further added, “That was nice. I always respect that. But that doesn’t mean I’m happy now or that maybe the FIA ​​wasn’t a little too merciful with him”.

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It was Sainz’s 6th DNF of the season after retiring his car in Australia, Imola, Azerbaijan Austria and Japan previously. The Spaniard now finds Lewis Hamilton lurking just four points behind him in the championship.

Carlos Sainz believes the Mexican GP could be a “6-way fight”

Red Bull could face tough competition for the win in Mexico from rivals Ferrari and Mercedes, according to Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver believes Mexico’s high downforce, high altitude circuit could pose a threat to the constructor’s champions. Red Bull currently have won 8 races on the spin since Charles Leclerc’s win in Austria.

Sainz said, “I think there is a strong chance it could be a six-way driver battle for the win. I think it will be an interesting one; I think we could be up for one of the most competitive weekends unless one of the teams suddenly adapts to these altitudes a lot better than the others.”

The former McLaren driver will be looking to end his successive runs of DNFs in Mexico. Carlos also believes he’s one of the quickest drivers out there and is confident about his chances in Mexico.

Sainz has just won 1 race in his career which came at Silverstone this year. However, that has not affected the Ferrari driver’s confidence as he looks forward to the next race.

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With Mercedes bringing their A-game in the last few races, Ferrari will need to pull their socks up. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be instrumental for Ferrari in securing the second spot in the championship. Can the Maranello outfit hold on?