Carlos Sainz Jr was unable to repeat his exploits from the United States Grand Prix in Mexico City on Sunday, finishing down in sixteenth position after a tough race and a time penalty.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver had started tenth on the grid after an excellent display during qualifying, but a penalty for forcing Fernando Alonso off the track on the opening lap coupled with gearbox and brake issues on his STR11 meant he was unable to maintain position, with the five second penalty relegating him to sixteenth behind Felipe Nasr.
Sainz admitted it was just one of those days at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez when nothing went in his favour, and it was apparent to the Spaniard early that points were never going to be on the cards.
“It just wasn’t our day today… What a tough afternoon!” said Sainz on Sunday. “During the laps to the grid I already felt that there was something wrong with the gearbox while downshifting, as well as with the brakes that kept overheating from the first lap onwards – we didn’t have the pace today and these issues didn’t help.
“If to all this you also add a five-second penalty for impeding Fernando during Lap 1… It just became a very difficult race from the very start and it meant we were never going to finish in the points unfortunately.
“It’s a shame, because we had a very good day yesterday, but this is racing and finishes like last Sunday in Austin don’t happen every day!”
