Carlos Sainz has asked Formula 1’s frontrunners to be patient with lapped cars, saying getting out of the way under blue flags is harder than it looks, after he again frustrated the race leader at the United States Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli, chasing his ninth win of the season and his first chance to wrap up the title, caught Sainz’s Williams on lap 36 of 56. In the dirty air behind the Spaniard, the Mercedes driver locked up and ran off the track.
"Ah this guy! My god!" Antonelli said on team radio, while Sainz told his team that he was just about to let the Mercedes driver through before the lock-up occurred. Antonelli ultimately recovered to secure victory by 13 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, whereas Sainz finished 18th following a first-lap front wing collision.
It is not the first time this season Sainz has found himself in a leader’s way, echoing a similar controversy at the Hungarian Grand Prix where a collision with Oscar Piastri resulted in a five-second time penalty for the Spaniard.
Reflecting on the challenges of yielding position, the 32-year-old emphasized that the massive pace differential between top-tier machinery and the backmarkers creates severe miscalculations during a Grand Prix weekend.
"We’re doing the best we can," Sainz said. "The problem is there’s such a big speed difference from the top cars to us. It’s up to three or four seconds. So the moment you calculate to let them by, maybe they’ve caught you up quicker than you expected, or vice versa."
Drawing from his extensive career experience in top-tier machinery, Sainz urged the grid leaders to maintain understanding when navigating through slower traffic during crucial phases of a race.
"To the top guys, I’ve been in both positions, lapping a lot of people in my Ferrari days. I’m being lapped now, and I can tell you, it’s not easy for the ones having to let people by. So bear with us because it’s not like it’s as straightforward as it looks when you’re leading," he concluded.
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