Sainz questions ‘banzai’ Colapinto overtake

Carlos Sainz has stated his race in Singapore was compromised by a “banzai” opening lap overtake from Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto overtook several cars into the first corner to move himself into the point-paying positions in his third grand prix start.

The move was instantly probed by team-mate Alex Albon, who exclaimed on the team radio: “Franco just divebombed! What is he doing?”

Sainz stated he enjoyed a strong starting from 10th on the grid but was demoted one spot in the opening corners as he hit out at Colapinto’s overtaking manoeuvre.

“Honestly, starting from the dirty side, I actually got a decent start,” Sainz told media including RacingNews365.

“But going into Turn 1, I think there was a Williams doing a bit of a banzai move.

“Obviously, with how much we have to play in the championship, I had to take avoiding action. And if not, I would have probably had a big contact from from the Williams.”

Sainz hails ‘good’ race despite compromised start

Sainz was one of the first drivers in the field to pit onto the hard tyre in an attempt to undercut the midfield battle he was engaged in.

Ferrari’s strategy allowed him to gain position on the track as he crossed the line in seventh place.

It marked his lowest result of the campaign, bar Canada and Azerbaijan where he failed to see the chequered flag.

“From there, we obviously were even further back in the midfield,” he stated. 

“We took a bit of a bold, aggressive strategy, pitting so early to try and get out of that midfield battle and then go to the end on the hard, which worked for us.

“A bit compromised by the start, but then some good overtakes and some good pace when we needed it.”