A bitter fourth place for Carlos Sainz

He won't have missed much Carlos Sainz (McLaren) to pin to Sakhir Grand Prix a second podium after that of Monza.

Taking full advantage of the incident involving Sergio Pérez (Racing Point), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull), the McLaren Spaniard found himself in ambush behind the Mercedes at the end of the first round at the time of neutralization.

It was even the son of the double world rally champion who was the first to dynamite the peloton on the restart, coming to overtake Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) for second place braking for the first corner.

But an off-trajectory passage in the following corner offers the Finn the possibility of regaining his property, Sainz then taking a group made up of Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) or even Daniil Kvyat (Alpha Tauri).

Employed on a two-stop strategy, the Woking driver believes he lost too much time behind the Mercedes after the intervention of the safety car in the second half of the race. “ It's a very bitter fourth place, admits Sainz.

The Mercedes (Bottas) blocked behind Stroll did not help. I managed to overtake him and chase Lance stroll (Racing Point) all the way, narrowly missing the podium. I pushed hard today and did everything I could to get it.

It's frustrating, but at the same time we were beaten by cars that were a little luckier today and also a little faster all weekend. So we can't be too disappointed. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Sakhir Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Bahrain, in issue 2290 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.