Carlos Sainz has said it was difficult for him to get through the Miami Grand Prix after his crash during Friday practice caused pain in his neck.
The Spaniard had found the wall in FP2 on Friday which limited his running, but he recovered well to grab second in qualifying behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
He divulged that he had asked the FIA to install TECPRO barriers at Turn 14 after he made heavy contact with a concrete wall, but this was denied by the governing body.
READ: FIA rejected Ocon and Sainz’s call amid safety concerns at Miami GP
The 27-year-old spent much of the afternoon running his own race in third behind Leclerc and Verstappen after the Dutchman got past him on the opening lap of the race, but was forced to fend off Sergio Perez at the end following a Safety Car that had afforded the Mexican a stop onto fresh tyres.
Sainz detailed the physical battle he had been experiencing over the course of a scorching day in Florida.
“I’ve been better,” he admitted after the race.
“Obviously after the crash on Friday, I still had a bit of neck pain going into the race but I still had to manage it and I fought through it.
“Especially with Checo at the end on the Medium tyre he was very difficult to keep behind but we managed to keep the podium which is a decent result.”
Tyres were a big concern this weekend at a track where grip levels were difficult to maintain amid high degradation and a natural lack of grip on the asphalt anyway.
Despite concerns from Perez and Lando Norris, we did see some fabulous racing out on track, but Sainz observes that the car was not easy to handle under the conditions.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” he said.
“It’s been a tough race with the tyres, with the heat. The car was moving and sliding a lot but in the end we got we deserved I think which is a decent P3, but we can it up from here.”
“I want more but it’s not a bad [result].”
Sainz’s P3 puts him six points behind Mercedes’ George Russell in the battle for fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.