Lacklustre Result For Carlos Sainz At Hungary

Ferrari haven’t quite been at their best as seen recently. Surely, they won an important Formula 1 Grand Prix at Monaco, which spelt a first, if also, mega win for Charles Leclerc at the venue, which was followed by an important podium at Austria. But the sport hasn’t really been about Ferrari’s scintillating exploits if one was to speak of the recent events. And Hungary was no exception, especially if you talk about both their drivers’ results.

While surely, there was some reprieve of sorts for Charles Leclerc, who managed to bag a vital fourth and in so doing, found some useful points inside the top five at the front, the Hungaroring wasn’t a great race at all for Carlos Sainz.

There has been much talk surrounding Carlos Sainz’s recent performances. Not only did the soon-to-be-30-year-old capture a podium for his team at Monaco (where Charles formed the limelight), he most recently earned another fighting top-three result at the picturesque Syrian Alps.

However, a sixth in the end at the 70-lap contest at the Hungaroring wasn’t exactly a fine result for the massively talented Carlos Sainz jr.

It ought to be remembered that since the completion of the 2024 Monte Carlo Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz has bagged two finishes in the top-five; one each at Great Britain and Austria. At both these venues, it ought to be noted, Charles Leclerc failed to score a single point.

In that regard, thanks to his consistent performances that first came to light this year at the Australian Grand Prix, the Madrid-born driver had emerged as the more consistent performer at the Italian stable. He was also demonstrating fine qualifying pace, which undoubtedly, form the precursor to the big racing event on Sunday.

But at the 2024 Hungarian GP, things weren’t meant to go Carlos Sainz’s way

For sure, right at the start, the Spanish talent was found under some pressure; his teammate gaining two places and comfortably usurping the Ferrari SF 24#55. But even later on, despite having tyres that were, at least, five laps fresher in his second stop, Sainz wasn’t quite able to set the pace he’d have liked to hope for a podium finish.

On the other hand, Leclerc had been setting the fastest lap times before eventually being trumped by a late pit stop by George Russell of Mercedes.

But surely, Sainz’s race had a moment of reckoning that perhaps didn’t quite come true. How was that?

Quite frankly, when Verstappen made contact with Hamilton in the closing stages of the event to run wide outside the track limits, Leclerc immediately passed the Dutch driver and gained a fourth, a position he would hold onto until the end.

However, Carlos Sainz, who had been following the Dutch driver ever more closely after Verstappen’s skirmish, wasn’t quite able to waltz ahead in similar fashion to Leclerc.

Now, one could argue that it was the best opportunity for Sainz to make it to fifth and hence, record yet another top five finish. But, it wasn’t to be.

Even from a historical point of view, the Hungaroring hasn’t really been the Ferrari driver’s favourite hunting ground. While he did score a podium here in his very first visit to the venue as a Ferrari driver, circa 2021, since then Sainz has only scored a fourth here, when one attempts to understand his best result at the venue.

That he began yesterday’s race from fourth and fell two places back in the end did highlight his struggles somewhat. Did it not?