Formula 1

Sainz: British GP win means ignoring Ferrari order 'not the wrong decision'

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Carlos Sainz believes victory at the British Grand Prix validated his decision to overrule Ferrari's order behind the Safety Car.

With teammate Charles Leclerc on used hard tyres versus those behind on new softs, the Italian team asked the Spaniard to drop back to give Leclerc some breathing space at the restart.

However, the Spaniard refused to comply, telling the pit wall to "stop inventing".

Ultimately, Sainz would then pass the Monegasque shortly after the restart, en route to his first Formula 1 win while Leclerc dropped to fourth.

“Well, Ferrari won, I won, so for sure it was not the wrong decision,” he told the media on Thursday of his radio defiance.

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“I think at that time, in the car I knew perfectly what I had to do. I knew not to put Charles in a compromised position, but also to give Ferrari a race win – that is what the team cares the most about and I think everything I did was sensible.

“I didn’t put Charles under unnecessary risk or pressure while overtaking him, knowing that I was going to overtake him fairly easily on the soft. I won the race for Ferrari and I think it was a good outcome in the end.

“So yes, I would have done it the same again and I think the team perfectly understood my position.

"That’s why they didn’t call again for the 10 car lengths because they knew that what I had argued during the radio comment was totally valid.”

Since Sunday, there have been rumours of potential disharmony within Ferrari, as those on Leclerc's side of the garage feel angry over the call not to pit him behind the Safety Car.

However, Sainz insisted the atmosphere was normal.

“Like always, he behaved like the gentleman that he is and the briefing was normal," he said of Charles' reaction.

“The way it goes when I have a bad race is a normal briefing and the way it goes when he has a bad race, it’s also a normal briefing.

"It’s one of the strong points that we have as teammates and as drivers, and as a team spirit that we have in Ferrari.”

Sunday was also a breakthrough moment for Sainz, who finally became a Grand Prix winner on his 150th start.

And now he has the taste for victory, Carlos doesn't want to wait long to do so again.

“If anything, this win has just given me more hunger to try and do it again as soon as possible, and to keep fighting for those wins,” he said.

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