Why Sainz is frustrated with the FIA after F1’s Saudi Arabian GP

The point of contention occurred when Sainz rejoined just ahead of Perez under the Safety Car on Lap 17.

Sainz was exiting the pit lane while Perez was going through the first couple of corners.

The Ferrari driver was deemed to be ahead when coming out of the pits but Perez didn’t relinquish third place until after the Safety Car period had ended.

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Speaking after the race, Sainz was frustrated by the FIA’s delayed decision-making which cost him a shot at challenging Max Verstappen for second once the grand prix resumed at the end of Lap 20.

“The safety car line with Checo, this is our number one priority now that we need to talk about with the FIA because basically, Checo lost the opportunity to fight with me on the restart, and I lost the opportunity to fight with Max [Verstappen] for [Perez] not giving up the position during the Safety Car,” Sainz said.

“We had a lot of laps to do it. The FIA didn’t allow us and I think for the sake of racing and the sake of F1, these kind of things need to happen quicker and they need to happen more efficiently.”

In the post-race FIA press conference, Sainz described the situation as “very strange”.

“It definitely was very strange,” he added. “I think as a sport we need to keep analysing these things because we could simplify things so much more if Checo would have just given me the position during the safety car which basically would have given me an opportunity to fight Max at the restart and would have given Checo on opportunity to fight me to get the position.

“But what happened is that I was obviously fighting Checo, but I knew that Checo was going to give me a position quickly and he couldn't fight me because he was going to give me a position back so in the end, we created a mess that for me is unnecessary, given the fact that we did six laps behind the safety car and there were millions of opportunities for Checo to let me by and have a good fight at the restart.”

How long until Carlos Sainz can fight with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen?

Sainz’s first year with Ferrari was impressive as he beat teammate Leclerc in the drivers’ championship.

By his own admission, Sainz has struggled to adapt to Ferrari F1-75 in 2022 despite his two podium appearances in the first two races of the season.

Sainz was once again cut adrift from the lead battle between Leclerc and Max Verstappen but he still remains in championship contention, sitting second in the standings.

The Spaniard conceded after the race in Saudi Arabia that he’s still not at 100 per cent.

“I was happier than in Bahrain, definitely,” Sainz explained. “There's been a bit of progress done from my side of the garage, with the feeling with the car.

“Also, having the opportunity to come to this track, one hundred days only after we were here with last year's car has given me a much clearer picture of the type of corner and the two or three corners that I'm still lacking with this car – because it’s quite clear for me now, it has given me a great opportunity to understand fully the magnitude of how much I need to adapt and how much I need to get the car bit more to my liking.

“I felt like today we did a small step in the right direction and you know still… well, while I'm still not 100 per cent with the car, to keep bringing the points and the podiums is important until I will get back to 100 per cent and it will be time to join these guys at the top for the fights.”

Sainz has yet to win in his career but he will have another chance to do so when F1 returns to Albert Park in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix on April 8-10.