Carlos Sainz Jr felt he was on course for a good result at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday until his final pit stop, after which he just did not have the same kind of pace he had enjoyed up until then.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was in contention for a points finish, running as high as eighth before his final pit stop, but the last stint of the race saw him fall down to thirteenth, with the Spaniard unsure to the reasons why his pace dropped away.
“We were quite fast today in the first two stints of the race,” said Sainz. “We committed to a two-stop strategy and it was going well, even though we were having to manage the brakes and engine quite a bit during the whole race.
“When the Safety Car came out, we pitted for another set of Soft tyres for my last stint but, all of a sudden and I don’t know why, we lost a lot of time per lap and started to go backwards.
“It’s a shame, because we were actually quite quick before that, overtaking our rivals like the two Force India’s, but the characteristics of this circuit made the race very tricky today.
“I have to say that I’m amazed with the Mexican fans and the big crowds here at the track throughout the whole weekend. They definitely give you an extra push, it’s really great and it’s just what Formula 1 needs!”
