Carlos Sainz Unveils the Secret to His Monster First Lap at the Portuguese Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz Jr got off to a flier at the start of the race in Portugal as he leapfrogged both the Mercedes to grab the lead. But that did not last long, as he was soon pushed down the order and ultimately came home in P6 in the Renault-powered McLaren.

During the post-race interview, the Spaniard revealed that he anticipated the Mercedes to struggle on the Mediums and utilized it to his fullest advantage.

Sainz claimed that he never expected to lead the race at the Portuguese Grand Prix. “No. I didn’t. But then I saw the rain. I said let’s give ourselves a chance, you know,” he said.

He also revealed the mystery behind the blistering pace he had during the early part of the race. “I really put a lot of emphasis in warming up the tires. Because I knew the track was gonna be particularly tricky to get up to temperature,” Sainz said.

“And it worked well. I mean, I was very happy with those first few laps,” he added.

Sainz pulled away from Valtteri Bottas pretty well following his move into P1. But he failed to hold on to the lead, as the Mercedes drivers found their way back ahead of the McLaren driver after getting their yellow-marked tires up to the optimum temperature.

I always embrace such conditions: Carlos Sainz

Sainz revealed that performing under such unpredictable conditions is a strength he can boast of, as was proved today. “I always enjoy those conditions. I always try to embrace them instead of, you know, sometimes you get a bit too close and you fear them,” he said.

“So, yeah, happy with that. For sure, my dad was even happier than me. Because he likes those conditions. He loves me being quick in those conditions. And, yeah, happy,” he added.

Despite leading the race for a handful of laps, Sainz later fell back to P6 as he started to lose more rubber on the Softs. By the time McLaren called him into the pits, he had already lost his battle against Pierre Gasly.

Although Sainz ended up in P7 after his pit stop, the Ferrari bound driver pulled off a straightforward move on a struggling Sergio Perez during the final lap of the race.

The move helped McLaren inch closer to their rivals, Racing Point, on the Constructors’ Championship standings. With merely 2 points separating the two, the Woking-based outfit are well and truly in the fight for the Top-3.