Carlos Sainz reacts to his retirement in Bahrain: "I'm not going to start criticizing"

Forced not to finish the race despite a fine 8th place on the starting grid, Carlos Sainz can regret two consecutive collisions which ruined his many efforts in Bahrain.

Published 14/04/2025 à 16:17

Mathieu Chambenoit

  Comment on this article! 1

Carlos Sainz reacts to his retirement in Bahrain: "I'm not going to start criticizing"

© Eric Alonso / DPPI

With only one point gained at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix thanks to the disqualification of the drivers Ferrari behind him, Carlos Sainz is definitely struggling to take off. For the first time this season, the pilot Williams had dominated his teammate Alexander albon in the qualifying exercise, presenting himself ideally for Sunday's race.

Instead of a first fair points gain, the former Scuderia Ferrari driver was not even able to finish his race, involved in a first contact with Yuki tsunoda, then in a second, earning him a penalty, with Kimi Antonelli. Although the result is to be forgotten, the weekend appears to be a new working base for the newcomer from Grove.

ALSO READ > Did we place too much expectation on Sainz and Hamilton?

Sainz laments a disadvantageous position in the middle of the pack

"We fought the whole race with cars that were faster than us. It was a bit frustrating because you try to stay in contact, but you use the tires even more to keep up with them, you push a bit harder, he explained after the race, before discussing his contact with Yuki Tsunoda. A big hit came to the inside coming out of the first corner. I think he lost the rear and hit me. That's what caused the damage. From there, I was second and a half in terms of damage, and I had to retire."

After this contact, significant damage was observed on the car of the Spaniard, causing him an aerodynamic loss estimated at around 60 points by the driver himself during the race. Much less comfortable from then on, retirement was close, but another contact, this time with Kimi Antonelli, also cost him dearly.

"I lost control a bit, I couldn't score any points. The car didn't brake, it was out of control, without downforce. We paid the penalty and lost points, he then commented.

Unable to avoid the Italian due to a severely unbalanced car, Carlos Sainz caused his rival to lose two places. For this mistake, the Williams driver also lost two points on his super license, bringing his total points to nine at this point in the season.

The driver, who explained that he was still in the midst of a significant learning curve after arriving at Grove this winter, has just missed another opportunity to score points. However, his progress is constant, and his performance certainly appears to be on target to aim for a second top 10 finish this coming weekend on the streets of Jeddah.

ALSO READ > Verstappen, Lawson, Sainz… Where are the drivers with their points-based licenses?

Autohebdo Store / Flash Sales

See the shop

Comment on this article! 1

Read also

Comments

1 Comment (s)

A

Alain Féguenne (Luxembourg)

14/04/2025 at 04:23 a.m.

Too bad... for Carlos, a magnificent qualifying... then a chaotic race 😎👀🤨

Write a comment