Sainz defends Ferrari risk despite being 'dead meat' at British GP finish

Carlos Sainz has defended Ferrari's risky strategy tactics at the end of the British Grand Prix, despite it causing him to lose a lot of positions.

The Ferrari driver was in sixth place for most of the start, but dropped to 12th when he made his first pit stop for the Hard tyres on Lap 26.

While he could get temperature into the tyres quickly and produced competitive lap times, his race was compromised by the Safety Car.

"I was doing a pretty decent race, going long on the medium tyre, putting on the Hard and coming back with very strong pace," he told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"Then the Safety Car came out in the worst possible time for me because I had no tyres left."

Sainz: It was 50/50 so I let the team decide

Sainz was heard over team radio discussing with his engineer whether they should pit, eventually leaving it up to the team who elected to stay out.

This put him in P7 at the restart, but those around him on the Medium and Soft tyre could push without fear of degradation. A move by Sergio Perez at Club corner was followed by Alex Albon, then later Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly.

"I was 50/50, that's why I left it to the team to decide," explained Sainz regarding the decision to not pit.

He added: "Boxing would have been being P10, not boxing being P6 but with positions to lose. We tried to stay out there, maybe work for three or four laps until Checo in a Red Bull was always gonna pass us," he said.

Risky strategy caused loss of positions

In the space of six corners Sainz had dropped to P11, but managed to get back ahead of Gasly with a move through the high speed Corpse.

Those overtakes made Sainz's already worn tyres even worse, as he explains how it put him offline onto the marbles: "I was always going to be dead meat, I was on a used Hard tyre against fresh Mediums and Softs.

"I actually think I did pretty well to stay ahead until the Red Bull on the Soft passed me, then once they pass you get a bit of dirt on the tyres and it's always going to be tricky with following cars on Soft tyres."

Sainz finished P10 and just 4.1s off Logan Sargeant, who was mimicking Albon's pace at the end in the fast Williams. By salvaging one point, the Ferrari has managed to stay in the top five in the Drivers' Championship.