Sainz denies suggesting Racing Point ’illegal’
"I never questioned the legality of that car"
Carlos Sainz has backed away from any suggestion that Racing Point’s 2020 car, dubbed the ’pink Mercedes’ by many in the paddock, might be illegal.
Spaniard Sainz, who drives for McLaren, hinted that the engineers he works with do not believe that Racing Point copied Mercedes simply by studying photos.
"I asked my engineers ’Why don’t we copy Mercedes too?’ and they told me it’s impossible. I believe them and I’m not going to say any more," he said recently.
Many took those comments to indicate that McLaren believes the Racing Point car may not have been designed in full compliance with the rules.
When asked if a protest might be looming, Sainz now says: "I don’t know. That’s a matter for the team.
"But I never questioned the legality of that car," he told Marca sports newspaper.
"What I talked about was the spirit of McLaren, which is to be pioneers and a team that invents, not a team that copies but a team that sets the trend.
"I am not interested in what the other teams are doing. I am only interested in seeing mine become the reference and the leading team in the medium and the long term," Sainz added.
McLaren F1
Red Bull eyes both McLaren drivers ’for the future’
Fleeing McLaren chief on way to struggling Alpine - rumour
Bahrain buys McLaren, Brown stays as boss
McLaren hid innovative ’mini wing’ at 2024 car launch
More on McLaren F1
Aston Martin F1 Team
Pressure piling up on ’worst’ F1 driver Stroll
Honda would ’welcome’ Yuki Tsunoda to Aston Martin
Non-racing F1 role likely for Alonso after 2026
Question mark hangs over Stroll’s F1 future
MotoGP star hails Alonso’s ’second youth’ in F1
More on Aston Martin F1 Team