• Chronicle: Sainz's historic first podium: comeback from last place and three hours of waiting
  • Ferrari Integral hot flashing in Interlagos

Carlos Sainz surpassed the most optimistic calculations of McLaren, with an impeccable performance that allowed him to overcome 17 places, from the last of the grid to the third on the podium. "The car has gone much better than Friday and I have left absolutely everything," said the Madrid before knowing the final penalty to Lewis Hamilton , punished with five seconds and two points on the license for his illegal maneuver in the penultimate lap against Alexander Albon Chain heroics during their 101st grand prize had a deserved reward.

A unique strategy

The degradation of the tires on an asphalt at 49ºC seemed severe, but Tom Stallard , Sainz track engineer, opted for a one-stop strategy. Not a single adversary in the whole grid wanted to assume such a risk. "Leaving from so far back I told myself: 'I'm going to do the opposite to everyone'. It was the best option to stay out of traffic and it worked," said the Madrid, who managed to stretch his first relay with the tires until 29 laps. soft The subsequent 16-second bite of the clock - the time it takes to travel through the revived 'pit lane' of Interlagos - proved crucial to its feat.

The endurance after the 'safety cars'

The two safety cars, caused by the abandonment of Valtteri Bottas and the absurd Ferrari accident, forced an extra effort on Sainz. After the first highlight he managed to overtake Romain Grosjean (Haas), but then the matter was really complicated. "I felt very vulnerable," he admitted, remembering how his average tire was not taking temperature in the face of attacks by Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) and Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso). "They were wearing fresh soft rubber. I knew it was an all or nothing at that time," said the McLaren leader.

Genius before Pérez

The overtaking in the third round to Sergio Pérez (Force India) was the poster of a race to remember. "Have you seen?" Asked Carlos, the great forgotten by the television production of Liberty Media. "I almost wore it, but in the end I reacted well," he explained about his impressive movement on the inside of curve 1. He had previously passed Robert Kubica , George Russell and Daniil Kvyat without too much complications. The aggressiveness to quickly regain ground cleared the horizon for later movements.

Teachings of rallies

Carlos has always carefully attended the advice of his father, a double world rally champion. In fact, every year they have fun together on the dirt tracks of the town of Cebreros in Abula . To these lessons, curiously, he had to appeal urgently during the decisive stretch in Interlagos. "I had no grip. In the fourth and fifth speed the car was going completely away. At that time everything I knew about rallies helped me to defend, defend and defend," said former Toro Rosso and Renault driver.

Young but patient

The aim during the 19 great prizes of 2019 was confirmed in a big way in Sao Paulo: consistency and patience when managing adverse situations are the two best weapons of Sainz, a veteran of just 25 years. Nothing to do, for example, with the impulsiveness of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly , his podium partners, raised like him at the Red Bull Academy. This happy coincidence also triggered the youngest trio in history to climb into the drawer. Between the three they average 23 years, eight months and 23 days, lowering the previous record of Sebastian Vettel , Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica in the 2008 Italian GP.

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