carlos sanzo He insisted that his first Formula One win is a day he will never forget after winning at Silverstone.
In a spectacular race, Sainz battles his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc In a spectacular 10-lap shootout for the checkered flag after a safety car period.
Sainz told Sky Sports, ‘I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing. First race win, 150 races later, with a Ferrari at Silverstone, I couldn’t ask for more.
Carlos Sainz says he will never forget his first Grand Prix success after victory at Silverstone
‘This is a day I will never forget. A very special weekend in general. I am very happy. Lewis was on that I’ve heard but we were able to stay on.
‘I was struggling with balance, it wasn’t easy. But I believed it could still happen. I needed to stay in the race and the safety car came and we did.
‘I was uneasy during the security card restart, I needed to get it done.
‘Silverstone is a special place for me. I got the same result after my first race win in Formula 3 and 12 years later in Formula One. This is a special result for me.’
Lewis Hamilton finished third and insisted the podium finish is a ‘huge bonus’ for Mercedes.
After securing his second podium in as many races, Hamilton said: ‘I have to give it to this crowd. Thank you all for the incredible support. We don’t see it all over the world. This is the biggest group we’ve got so I’m very grateful for that.
Lewis Hamilton finished third and says podium finish is a ‘huge bonus’ for Mercedes
‘I gave it my all today and I was trying to chase those Ferraris but they were too fast for us today and in the end I was in a fight with Perez but those guys were too fast for us.
‘We lost a little bit of time in the pit stop and I was chasing and chasing. But it is a huge bonus for us to be on the podium and I am glad that everyone was safe in the beginning with that huge accident.
Sergio Pérez finished second, with Hamilton third when he forced his way around Leclerc with four laps of 52 laps remaining.
Sainz, Perez and Hamilton all took new tires before the safety car restart, but Ferrari left Leclerc on old rubber and the championship challenger was left in No Man’s Land, moving from first to fourth. , and expected to tackle his title setback in a day where Max Verstappen went home limping after damaging seventh place.
A record crowd of 142,000 fans were drawn in Northamptonshire to race the season which began in extraordinary fashion.
Zhou Guanyue miraculously survived after being involved in a horrific accident on the early lap
Rookie Zhou Guanyue was approaching 160mph opening AB Corner when British driver George Russell tagged the right rear side of the Chinese driver’s machine, sent it to his roof and spun out of control.
On the upside, Zhou continued at high speed through the gravel and sparks continued flying, before he was slammed into the tire barrier and launched into the fence. Fans and photographers ducked for cover with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo, between the tire wall and the fence.
An extraction team left for Zhou and the 23-year-old, in his 10th race, was carefully removed and taken to a medical center in an ambulance before being discharged.
Russell was also seen dashing to check on Zhou’s condition with his friend, Williams driver Alex Albon, who had been implicated in the accident, and then.
‘I’m glad to see Zhou well. It was a horrific incident,’ Russell told Sky Sports.
The Mercedes driver, who was not allowed to restart the race, said: ‘I jumped out of the car to see that Zhou was okay. When I got back in the car I couldn’t restart it. As soon as you get outside help, you cannot start the race again.’
Mercedes’ George Russell, who was involved in the incident, said it was ‘horrible’
Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Okan were also involved in the frenzied first moments of Sunday’s race, with both drivers limping back into the pits for repairs and were able to take part when the race resumed after almost an hour’s delay.
A radio message to Zhou’s teammate Valtteri Bottas said: ‘Zhou is conscious. he is talking. There is no fracture and looking at the circumstances, he is very, very good.
London-born Albon was taken by helicopter to hospital for a precautionary check-up.
The race was immediately red flagged, but as the cars made their way into the potholes, five protesters stormed the circuit at 200mph in Wellington Strait before sitting on the track.
The protesters were dragged by marshals after several drivers were speeding.
An FIA spokesman said: ‘We confirm that following the red flag, several people attempted to enter the track. These people were immediately removed and the matter is now being dealt with by the local authorities.
The race resumed after a delay of 53 minutes.
Sainz found himself under a lot of pressure but he managed to grab glory
On lap 10, Verstappen, hot on Sainz’s tail, went into the lead after running off the Spaniard’s track via Becketts. But two laps later, Verstappen was in the pits with a puncture after he appeared to be running over the rubble.
Sainz soon came under pressure from Leclerc, and after hitting the pit wall, team principal Mattia Binotto ordered the scarlet cars to change position.
Suddenly, a fast-charging Hamilton was in the mix, and, after the pit first-round stop, he was only six seconds away from the lead.
Then, Ocon broke into his alpine and with a dozen laps to go the safety car was deployed. Leclerc stayed out – a decision Ferrari may regret – with Sainz, Hamilton and Perez all halted.
The race resumed on lap 43 and Sainz made short work of leaving Leclerc behind with Perez and Hamilton eventually following suit after several spellbinding laps.
Fernando Alonso finished fifth, one place ahead of Lando Norris, with Verstappen replacing Mick Schumacher in seventh.