Carlos Sainz looks back at his epic battle with Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 F1 Dutch GP

Carlos Sainz believes that he wasn’t too confident defending Lewis Hamilton during the final laps of the 2023 Dutch GP.

Speaking to Sportskeeda after the race, the Ferrari driver felt that the race at the Zandvoort circuit might be one of his best drives of the 2023 season.

After the red flag, Sainz defended his fifth place from a quick Hamilton at the Dutch GP. The Ferrari driver, known for his confident skillset in mixed grip conditions, has always had an edge over his rivals and teammate in damp weather.

When asked how confident he was in defending Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz replied:

“Not very confident. Specially when I took out the blankets and I saw the state of my tyres which I was going to deal with in those seven laps. I thought I knew I was going to be very very slow for seven laps.

“Yeah so at some point I thought he was going to pass me but honestly I think put the car in the right place at all times and stayed in front. That's why P5 today even with that extra added tension at the end even better.”

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Carlos Sainz proud of a well executed fifth place in the Dutch GP

Carlos Sainz feels that finishing in fifth place in the Dutch GP meant it was a well-executed race by himself and his team. He believes he was fighting cars that were much quicker than the Ferrari, particularly if their pace was analysed in dry conditions.

The Spanish driver felt fifth was the highest position they could have bagged at Zandvoort, given the limitations of their car. Asked if there was more than on the table for Ferrari, Sainz said:

“I know for sure at some point it looked like we even could fight for the podium, but the reality is when the race was settled, when you look at our pace, we were just nowhere in terms of pace. We managed to execute a really good race.

“We were fighting the whole race with people that were not in our pace, not in our race, fighting a lot of cars that were a lot quicker than us. So have to be happy and proud of our well executed P5. Obviously not happy with the feeling of our car and how much I struggled out there today.”

The Dutch GP race result has catapulted Carlos Sainz ahead of his teammate in the championship standings. The Spanish driver now holds a three-point lead over Charles Leclerc, who recorded a DNF.

However, the duo have been close throughout the 2023 season.

In fact, the last time the former Red Bull driver was ahead of Leclerc in the final drivers' standings was in 2021. Sainz's 2022 season was riddled with misfortunes and engine reliability issues, resulting in him involuntarily slipping to a subservient support role.