Carlos Sainz did his best in a great second stage at the Italian Grand Prix

The Spaniard finished second behind Pierre Gasly and ahead of Lance Stroll; “one more circle” was needed to catch up with Gasly; his teammate Lando Norris finished fourth and Mercedes finished fifth and seventh.

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Carlos Sainz recalls the unforgettable Italian Grand Prix in which he finished second

Carlos Sainz said he left nothing on the track after an impressive attempt to finish second to Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri in the exciting Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Spaniard sat comfortably second to Lewis Hamilton in the early stages and expected to lead when Hamilton received a 10-second free kick.

However, despite the red flag and another grid start leveling the pitch, Sainz took a respectable second place and admitted that he was pleased with his drive.

He said: “I am especially pleased with the way I was in the race, I gave absolutely everything and left nothing on the table after we fought for the way back.

“During the safety car, I felt that I would be the leader of the race, but the red flag gave everyone the opportunity to dump their tires. I was genuinely angry, but after that he fell and we almost got to Pierre.

“I had a chance to win the race, then a red flag appeared that hit me hard. Another setback when I comfortably ran in second place, but I can’t be too disappointed.

“Four tenths behind the start-finish line with DRS [Drag Reduction System] would cruise past Pierre [Gasly] but I prefer not to think about it! “

Sainz, who will join the struggling Ferrari next season, also said he only needed one lap to catch up with leader Gasley, and later admitted that his team told him about the pit lane closure in time, giving Hamilton his costly fine.

He added: “It’s incredible that I am half disappointed with P2, I would not have believed that I would have a chance to fight for victory today.

“We were very, very close, so to be honest, in a normal race we would have had the second second place because we had a really good pace. This is what we deserve.

“We were a little unlucky with the safety car, but we did a good job to recover. We were very fast all weekend and I felt I could dominate the midfield quite easily, so I’m happy with that.

“We only needed one more circle!”