‘I don’t even know what to say anymore’ – Charles Leclerc ‘not feeling good’ after Sunday to forget at Silverstone

“I was actually having a bit of fun because I had a very lonely race at the beginning,” Sainz explained. “As expected, the top three cars were much quicker than us today and they pulled away, but then as soon as it became slicks on damp conditions, that’s when I started to make a bit of a catch-up and taking a bit more risk than them.

“I could catch up to them, and I thought maybe we were back in the race, and [I thought] then maybe [if it] stays like this in these conditions for the rest of the race we might have a chance here.

“But then in full wet or in full dry we were just not quick enough, but I’m very happy, very proud of the team for all the right calls that we did together at this race. If we would have been quicker, I think we would have had a good chance to fight for this podium or this win, but unfortunately we are not there.”

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With Ferrari having seemingly slipped behind their rivals at the front during recent race weekends, Sainz was pleased with how he and the team managed to optimise the situation at Silverstone, with the Spanish driver heralding the race as one of his “most solid” since joining the Scuderia back in 2021.

“This is Formula 1 – you need to be there when the car is good and when the car is bad, and today we maximised even with a bonus point there for fastest lap,” Sainz added. “A P5 but it was nearly a P4, then it looked like a P3 for a bit, and then…

“Yeah, that’s why I’m happy, I’m proud, because I know that today it was not easy out there. We had to get all the calls right and get all the conditions and have our moments here and there, but we got everything perfect. Unfortunately we were only P5, but one of the most solid races of my last few years in Ferrari, for sure.”