Carlos Sainz Jr has revealed that the last lap radio call to Scuderia Toro Rosso team-mate Max Verstappen to allow him through was to see if the Spaniard could make an overtaking move on Sergio Perez stick, something Verstappen had failed to do in the previous ten laps.
Sainz revealed it was an eventful race, making a good start but was disappointed to be hampered by an electrical glitch at the end of the first safety car period that put his car briefly into neutral and relegated him towards the back of the field.
After that, Sainz made a number of perfectly judged and well executed overtakes to finish ninth, and claimed his first points since finishing tenth in the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
“It was certainly an eventful race!” said Sainz. “I had a good start, some very good pace at the beginning and the strategy was looking great.
“Suddenly, during the restart of the race after the first Safety Car, my gearbox went into neutral and I found myself at the back of the field. Then I started to overtake and have a lot of fun, climbing back up to P9, behind Max, who was pushing Perez.
“After seeing him try to overtake him for 10 laps, I just thought maybe I could try during one lap, and if I hadn’t been able to I would’ve given the position back to Max. I just wanted my chance, but he decided not to give it to me.
“It’s something we need to talk about as a team, but overall I have to say that I’m very happy to have finished in the points again! Let’s keep on pushing, the next race in Japan is only seven days away!”