Carlos Sainz Jr was disappointed to be forced into an early retirement during the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom after climbing from the back row of the grid and into the points before suffering a brake failure with just eight laps remaining.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was running in seventh position when his front left brake failed, with the Spaniard spinning twice on the same lap before pulling off at the side of the road.
Despite the retirement, Sainz was happy just to have been racing, especially after his crash during practice on Saturday that saw him miss qualifying after being taken to hospital. He insists he will be now taking some time off to fully recover from the incident.
“What a disappointing way to end what was being such a good race,” said Sainz. “But I have to say that I’m happy I could race after what happened yesterday.
“Today’s was a good performance in difficult conditions. I started from P20, pushed hard and suddenly I found myself in P7… We could’ve even ended in P6!
“Towards the end of the race I was warned to look after my brakes as the temperatures were very high and I was managing to do that while still racing at a good pace. Unfortunately, with only eight laps to go the brakes said ‘enough’ at Turn 13 and that was the end of my race.
“I have to be thankful to the whole team, they did a great job for me to be racing out there today after yesterday’s crash. The car was in perfect conditions. Now I will certainly get some rest during the next couple of days!”
