Carlos Sainz Jr. believes McLaren can feel “pretty close” to fourth in the championship but has warned against complacency due to Renault’s race pace.
McLaren again got the better of main rival Renault during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix but both Sainz Jr. and team-mate Lando Norris were overhauled in race trim by Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo scored sixth, in front of Norris and Sainz Jr., with Nico Hulkenberg ninth, ensuring both Renault and McLaren picked up 10 points, maintaining the gap between the teams at 32 points.
“I think we’ve got pretty close to it,” said Sainz Jr. on fourth overall. “Especially with a double points finish. It’s a very good result.
“We cannot relax because what I don’t like is that we are half a second quicker than Renault in quali, but they are the same pace or maybe a bit quicker than us on the race day.
“So, we need to find a way to keep that half a second advantage into race day.”
Sainz Jr.’s race was compromised by first-lap contact with Alexander Albon that left McLaren adopting an aggressive undercut strategy.
“[During the] first stint stuck behind the Toro Rosso, we had to undercut him and we were one of the first to put the Hard tyres on to undercut him.
“From there on, honestly our stint was probably the strongest of the day with catching Lando and Ricciardo in front before I got lapped.
“Then I was very interested in our two-stop. In the end, the team split the strategy, and I obviously finished P8. But at least I recovered well after the first lap contact, which was obviously not my fault.”
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