Sainz gives his version of events regarding Mexico GP’s late-race VSC

Carlos Sainz says he did “the safest thing I could do” when pulling over to retire from Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix, despite causing a late virtual safety car.

Sainz spun out of the race in the stadium section at the end of lap 68; the Williams driver drove towards the gap in the barriers that allows marshals to clear stricken cars.

Race control still neutralised the race via the virtual safety car – precisely as Max Verstappen had a last realistic chance to snatch second place away from Charles Leclerc.

Told by a journalist that “the VSC robbed us of a good finish to the race”, Sainz replied: “Did it? I didn’t see.

“I went into the inside of the barrier with the car, trying to avoid any safety car or VSC. I think I did the safest thing I could do.

“I had overheating on the tyre and I had a half-spin but anyway we were going to retire the car.”

Asked whether he thought the VSC was necessary, Sainz insisted: “I felt I put the car safe enough. I don’t know if it was VSC, double yellow or what, but I definitely tried to avoid any of that.”

The Spaniard lamented “a race full of issues” from the very beginning. In Turn 1, Fernando Alonso tapped the rear of Esteban Ocon’s car; Sainz swerved left to avoid the slow Haas, but that swerve meant he drove into Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls.

“I damaged my rim, which damaged my first set of tyres, my rim sensor, my speed sensors of the tyre, and my pit limiter wasn’t working,” he lamented.

Sainz went on to get two penalties for speeding in the pitlane, hence his lowly 15th position when he retired from the race.

“From there on, even if we got five seconds’ penalty at the first pitstop, we were still in the hunt for points, but then we had to do a second pitstop,” he added. “We had the issue again of the pit limiter and we basically had a very difficult day.

“A shame, because I was really quick and even if I had a compromised strategy, compromised tyres, compromised car, we were quick – but too many issues.”

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