Sainz’s fifth helps Renault hunt down McLaren

Carlos Sainz has secured his best result of his burgeoning Renault career with fifth place at the frantic Azerbaijan Grand Prix to see the French manufacturer move to within one point of McLaren in the Formula 1 world constructors’ championship battle.

In the intense midfield scrap shaping up in 2018, McLaren continues to lead the fight for fourth with a double points finish in Baku but Sainz’s fifth place, after overtaking both Red Bulls on track, sees him help Renault cut down the deficit to a single point.

Sainz, who switched to Renault with four races to go in 2017, has notched up his best finish for the French manufacturer in a “crazy” race which opened up opportunities for the Spanish driver.

“I’m very happy and it was a really fun race, and as always in Baku, it was crazy out there as the grip was difficult,” Sainz said. “The first stint was very strong and I was able to overtake both Red Bulls on track.

“Then, the soft tyre was trickier for us and in the end we had to battle for that fifth place. It is positive for the team to go into Europe in a strong place in the championship.

“I need to keep working hard with my engineers to keep building the car to my liking and to keep the points coming.”

Sainz’s fifth place marks Renault’s highest finish since returning to F1 as a fully-fledged team at the start of 2016 as the team looks maintain its long term target to joining the top three teams in the battle for the F1 world titles.