Parallel comeback
Behind his Maranello teammate at the start of the 2023 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, following the penalty incurred for impeding in qualifying, and also behind his teammate at the finish, after a parallel comeback. Carlos Sainz’s race was practically mirrored to that of Charles Leclerc, although he always remained behind the twin Ferrari car, despite briefly closing the gap to the Monegasque driver in the early stages of the race which was held at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on Sunday.
However, the Ferrari pit wall needed to closely monitor the pace of the two SF-23s and promptly shut down any possibility of an on-track battle.
Sergio Perez kept behind
After the sole pit stop made by the Ferrari cars, there were a few laps where there was concern that Sergio Perez could catch up to car #55. However, Carlos Sainz did a brilliant job defending on hard tires, immediately thwarting Sergio Perez’s attempts to get closer and maintaining a comfortable distance from the Mexican driver throughout the final stint, despite the fact that the Red Bull car was running on medium tyres.
Final thrill
Only in the last few laps did Carlos Sainz encounter some worries as the Spanish driver had to manage a minor issue with the clutch. “Towards the end, I had a problem with the clutch, it was touching my leg and causing me to lose time in the middle of the corner,” explained Carlos Sainz to the microphones of Sky Sport F1. “I would release the clutch, and it felt like the car was stopping.” – he pointed out.
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“It happened two or three times,” added the Spaniard, “but apart from that, I didn’t have any other issues. I was comfortable with the medium compound, while I struggled more with the hard one. There was less grip, and the car was more unsettled over the curbs, but I’m happy with our pace and rhythm.” Thanks to this fifth-place finish and George Russell’s retirement, Carlos Sainz has now moved up to fifth position in the championship standings, with a three-point lead over the Mercedes driver ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
