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F1 Chinese GP: Sainz back in the points with last lap lunge

Carlos Sainz secured his second points' finish of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship season with a determined drive to ninth position, including a pass for position on the final lap.

In an entertaining race for the mid-pack drivers as different strategies played out, Sainz avoided the melee of the start to run sixth early on, only to lose time behind Nico Hulkenberg in the pit-lane entry as the German went slow to back up from team-mate Sergio Perez as they both pitted.

Admitting that incident cost him the chance to finish higher, Sainz nonetheless made in-roads during the closing stages to snatch ninth from Valtteri Bottas on the final lap.

"What an eventful and exciting race! There was plenty of action and I enjoyed it out there today - we had fights with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, which are the battles we want to be having. A P9 in the end aren't that many points, but it's good to finish with both cars in the top 10 and keep adding to our tally.

"Maybe we could've finished a bit higher up, but we lost a lot of time behind Force India in the pit-lane during the first pit-stop... Overall, it was good fun out there, we were able to do a lot of overtakes and our pace was decent."

Zdroj: crash.net