It was not an easy day for Carlos Sainz at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix as yet more mistakes from Ferrari cost him points.
The Spaniard started third behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, and there was contact on his right rear with Sir Lewis Hamilton – the pair escaped unscathed.
The left rear was the tyre in question later on in the race when the 27-year-old was called in for a stop but, somehow, the mechanic who was meant to put the tyre on that corner was late out of the garage.
While the rest of the team was waiting for the replacement tyre, the left rear tyre gun was left out in the pit lane, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ran over it.
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“They left the gun out,” said a surprised 32-year-old over the radio.
Thankfully, no lasting damage was done to the Red Bull and, after the new tyre came out, Sainz was finally released.
This left him battling with Perez later on in the race over fifth position rather than fighting in the podium places.
Both Hamilton and the other Mercedes of George Russell ended up ahead, and Sainz was then involved in another lairy moment when he appeared to pass Alpine’s Esteban Ocon under yellow flags.
Valtteri Bottas had been forced to stop his Alfa Romeo on the inside of Turn One due to a mechanical failure, causing a Safety Car to be deployed.
Sainz passed Ocon just as they got to the yellow flags, but it looked as though he had his nose in front, and no investigation was necessary.
However, the former McLaren driver was given a five-second penalty when he was unsafely released, under that same Safety Car, into the path of the other Alpine of Fernando Alonso.
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Having got back ahead of Perez on the restart to finish fifth, the penalty sent Sainz down to eighth while Russell finished second, taking the Briton back ahead and into fifth in the Drivers’ Standings.
Verstappen won the race for the second year running in front of his adoring home crowd, with the other Ferrari of Leclerc in third.
Hamilton was forced to settle for fourth after he was left out on track on old Mediums during the late Safety Car.