Sainz makes 'cruel' F1 revelation

Lauren Sneath
Thursday 12 October 2023 08:57

Carlos Sainz has lamented how ‘cruel’ motorsport can be after he was unable to race at the Qatar Grand Prix owing to a technical issue with his car.

It seems that the Spaniard’s run of success has truly ended, as after a podium in Monza and a shock victory in Singapore, he was unable to claim any points at all in the Losail race.

The Ferrari driver competed in Saturday’s sprint race, taking home three points for the team, but on Sunday Ferrari found a problem with his SF-23.

Confirming the technical issue just under an hour before the race at the Local International Circuit began, a Ferrari spokesman announced: “Due to a fuel system issue on his car, Carlos will not take part in the Qatar GP.”

Sainz was forced to watch from the garage on Sunday as his team-mate Charles Leclerc battled on track, with the latter taking P5 and 10 points in the race.

The Spaniard shared his sadness at being unable to compete in a post on Instagram after the race, calling the disaster a ‘lost opportunity’.

He wrote: “We all know motorsport can be cruel at times and today I got to taste the worst part of it. Lost opportunity but we learn and move on. Time to focus on the last races.”

READ MORE: Las Vegas Grand Prix to ditch HUGE F1 tradition due to dark past