Last year, Carlos Sainz came close to winning his first-ever F1 race with McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix. While the Spaniard moved to Ferrari this year, the British outfit went one better at the same racetrack, as Daniel Ricciardo ended their streak of 170 races without a win.

Although this changed the complexion of the battle for third place, Sainz admitted McLaren’s success pleased him.

Carlos Sainz happy with seeing McLaren “win again”

The 2020 Italian Grand Prix saw Sainz battle Pierre Gasly for a race win until the last lap. Although the 27-year-old tried his best, his French opponent held on to record one of the most famous race wins of the season. Although he enjoyed his podium, Sainz felt slightly disappointed to miss out on a win.

However, Ricciardo and Lando Norris took a stunning one-two this year to record an incredible result for McLaren in Monza. Sainz mentioned how their victory filled him with happiness, mentioning the struggle they went through over the years.

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He said, “I’m really happy with my former engineers and the other people I’ve worked with. I know how hard they worked for it. They’ve had tough times, and it’s nice from a historical point of view that McLaren wins again.” (Translated via Google News)

However, the Spaniard believed the British outfit showed pace worthy of their success in Monza throughout. “They were able to go at this impressive pace all weekend, they were competitive from the first practice session. It already dawned on us that they might fight for the podium,” said Sainz.

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Sainz also admitted McLaren’s result didn’t augur well for Ferrari

Although he expressed delight for his former team, Sainz also accounted for the change it brought in the battle for third in the constructors’ championship. However, he looked forward to the next race in Sochi to fight back.

He said, “Unfortunately they are fighting for third place in the Constructors’ Championship with us. And from that point of view this is of course the worst possible result for us. But we are still within reach. They took their chance. Congratulations. But we will try to fight back in Russia.”

With eight races to go, Ferrari trail McLaren by 13.5 points. Can the Italian outfit bounce back next week in the Sochi Autodrom? Only time will tell.

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