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F1 British GP: Sainz eyes Force India after ‘maximum’ result

Carlos Sainz feels he and Toro Rosso shouldn't feel downbeat with eighth place in the British Grand Prix having beaten both Williams and a Ferrari and believes Force India were also within his grasp.

After an impressive start in the wet Sainz challenged inside the top six but an ill-timed pit stop under the virtual safety car plus the drying conditions playing to Force India's strengths saw both Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg nip ahead of the Spaniard.

Despite a second consecutive eighth place finish Sainz felt the only blot on his copybook at Silverstone was a spin at the slippery turn one but having seen a high number of drivers all suffer offs he wasn't too discouraged by his performance.

"I think the only disappointment is having the two Force Indias in front at the end of the race," Sainz said. "For us to have the same pace as Ferrari in the wet or even being quicker and passing the two Williams and defending from the Force India is a huge achievement.

"Unfortunately, a small mistake at turn one which I was quite disappointed about but then I heard everyone was spinning or going off there so that helped me to cheer up. Eighth place may not be perfect but to beat one Ferrari and two Williams we need to be happy with that."

Sainz is level on points with Hulkenberg while Romain Grosjean is only two points above the pair in 10th in the drivers' championship and the Toro Rosso driver says those are the two he'll be competing with for the rest of the campaign.

"We can be very pleased with that [result] as Force India has had a better package than us since Barcelona," he added. "We are keeping them honest, with Perez having a lot of points and two podiums but Hulkenberg has had more normal races like me and we keep him in our sights.

"Romain Grosjean is also only two points ahead so we are doing a consistent job this year that's how it has to be."

Zdroj: crash.net