Frustrated Sainz was ‘one lap from winning’ in Miami · RaceFans

Carlos Sainz Jnr unsuccessfully called for Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri to receive penalties during the Miami Grand prix – but did collect one himself.

It was a frustrating afternoon for him, as he felt he came within a lap of winning the race, and had to remind his engineer not to talk too much on the radio.

Here’s how the Miami Grand Prix unfolded from his perspective.

Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Miami Grand Prix radio

“It should be a penalty”

Sainz launched away from third place superbly, immediately overtaking his second-placed team mate Charles Leclerc and tucking in behind Max Verstappen

Then Sergio Perez came flying down the inside, forcing Sainz to move wide. Leclerc retook the position through turn one and left little room for his team mate at the exit, allowing Oscar Piastri to demote Sainz another place. He was not impressed.

The stewards reviewed the start and decided not to penalise Perez, who braked so late for the first corner he went off on the outside.

“Are we going to try something?”

Piastri swiftly passed Leclerc for second and the two Ferraris queued up behind the McLaren. At first Sainz appeared to suggest Ferrari swap the running order of their cars, but once it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, he decided to look after his tyres and run a longer first stint.

The complexion of the race began to change when Verstappen went off at turn 14 and wiped out a bollard, causing a Virtual Safety Car period. Ferrari told Sainz to take advantage of the opportunity to pit while the racing speed was reduced if he could, but the VSC period ended before he reached the pits, so he stayed out.