Formula 1: Carlos Sainz Jr.’s maiden podium finish confirmed

Carlos Sainz Jr. is officially a podium finisher in Formula 1 after he avoided a penalty related to his use of the DRS in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

After an engine issue prevented him from making a qualifying attempt for the penultimate race of the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, the Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. started in 20th (last) place.

But the 25-year-old Spaniard had a race to remember, crossing the finish line in fourth place, tying the career-high finish he set driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit.

He finished this 71-lap race around the 15-turn, 2.677-mile (4.308-kilometer) Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace road course in Sao Paulo, Brazil behind race winner Max Verstappen of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, surprise runner-up finisher Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso and third place finisher Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

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But on the race’s final restart with two laps remaining, Sainz was running in fifth place, as Red Bull Racing rookie Alexander Albon was running in second place. Hamilton then spun Albon out, allowing Gasly to take second. Hamilton slotted back into third ahead of Sainz in fourth.

After the race, however, Hamilton was issued a five-second time penalty for hitting Albon, a hit that knocked Albon out of what would have been the first podium finish of his career to 14th place. As a result, Hamilton was demoted to seventh.

This meant that Sainz was promoted from fourth to third place, giving him the first podium finish of his career and McLaren’s first podium finish since the 2014 season opener at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, the Australian Grand Prix. Kevin Magnussen finished this race in second place ahead of teammate Jenson Button in third.

But Sainz remained under investigation for illegal use of the DRS under yellow flags despite the fact that no formal investigation was announced. Data was requested by the FIA from a few teams, including McLaren, regarding this situation.

Now Sainz has officially been awarded his third place trophy, marking the first podium finish in his 101 Formula 1 starts.

https://twitter.com/Carlossainz55/status/1196186598532157440

So here are the official race results of the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Race Results
1st – Max Verstappen
2nd – Pierre Gasly
3rd – Carlos Sainz Jr.
4th – Kimi Raikkonen
5th – Antonio Giovinazzi
6th – Daniel Ricciardo
7th – Lewis Hamilton
8th – Lando Norris
9th – Sergio Perez
10th – Daniil Kvyat
11th – Kevin Magnussen
12th – George Russell
13th – Romain Grosjean
14th – Alexander Albon
15th – Nico Hulkenberg
16th – Robert Kubica
17th – Sebastian Vettel
18th – Charles Leclerc
19th – Lance Stroll
20th – Valtteri Bottas

The Brazilian Grand Prix featured two first-time podium finishers in Formula 1, as Pierre Gasly’s previous career-high results were his fourth place finishes in the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit driving for Toro Rosso and in the 2019 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit driving for Red Bull Racing. Now 15 of the active 20 drivers have recorded at least one podium finish, with the five who haven’t being rookies Alexander Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, Lando Norris and George Russell as well as Nico Hulkenberg.