Carlos Sainz Jr. came away from the 2017 United States Grand Prix a happy man as he finished in the points on his Renault Sport Formula 1 Team début, finishing in seventh place, splitting the two Sahara force India F1 Team cars.
Sainz got off to a steady start as he made the move from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Renault, finishing in the top half of the time sheets in all sessions.
“It was a great debut for me with Renault and I really enjoyed myself out there.” said Sainz. “Right from the beginning, every lap I was feeling more confident with the car, so I was able to push harder.”
The Spaniard had a hard fought race as he battled with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez for sixth and seventh positions.
“I was able to attack the Force Indias, which have been out of reach for the team for the past few races, so to overtake one and attack another was a great result.” added Sainz.
Sainz would eventually have to settle with seventh place, just two seconds off of the rear of Ocon’s car.
“Everything has gone very smoothly the whole weekend; I knew I could be quick and I had confidence in myself. The whole team has really helped me out and that was key to adapt quickly.
“To have such a good qualifying and race makes me really happy and I have great thanks for every single member of the team.”
