Carlos Sainz Jr. described his first points with McLaren as “a bit of a relief” in the wake of a difficult start to the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Sainz Jr. suffered an MGU-K failure in Australia and was involved in collisions during the early stages of grands prix in Bahrain and China, before going on to drop out in Q2 in Azerbaijan, hindered by yellow flags.
But in race trim, Sainz Jr. made gains and ultimately came home in seventh place, profiting from team-mate Lando Norris’ decision to carry out a second pit stop during the Virtual Safety Car period.
“On a personal level this one is a bit of a relief,” he said.
“We had three races where I had the pace I had [in Azerbaijan], but just for a reason I still don’t understand three consecutive runs of bad luck happened to us.
“We didn’t have any issues and we just demonstrated what we are capable of doing.”
Sainz Jr. was backed up by eighth-placed Norris, marking the first time since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that McLaren had both drivers inside the points.
“We know our car needs to be improved in every single area,” said Sainz Jr. when asked by Motorsport Week on where McLaren needs to gain time.
“We [are] still a second or more behind the leaders and those are our targets, so when you’re a second behind you still need to aim for it.”
The double points finish elevated McLaren to fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship, a point ahead of Racing Point.
