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Sainz surprised by timing of first pit sto
Sainz was left frustrated on the team radio following his first pit stop because he didn't understand why Ferrari pitted him so early.
The Spaniard started on the hard tyres and reacted to the pit stop of Esteban Ocon, who he was battling with, by stopping on Lap 33 for the mediums.
He came out behind the Alpine driver and was forced to double stack behind Leclerc later in the race when switching to the intermediates.
"The first pit stop surprised me because I was on a very quick in lap on the hard tyre, thinking I was going to extend and overcut Esteban," said Sainz. "We boxed and were one second behind which I didn't get.
"With the pit stop and rain coming, I thought we were going to use the hard for a bit longer. The second stop was one lap too late but that was probably my fault, trying to compensate the frustration from the first stop by trying something differently and I got it wrong."
Ferrari told Sainz to pit to stay ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but the 28-year-old said he "didn't care" about the Mercedes driver on the team radio. Team principal Frederic Vasseur defended Ferrari's decision to pit Sainz when they did.
"I think it was a good strategy because when we asked him to pit, it was to cover Hamilton. It was to avoid losing the position against Hamilton," said Vasseur.
"It was the good goal because position is key on track. We would have been better off to extend if we were not at risk from Hamilton. But in this situation, I think it was the good call.
"Then we can discuss about when the rain came, it was a bet [gamble] from both sides but I have no regrets on this because we didn't lose positions at this stage."