Carlos Sainz hopes his first Formula 1 win at the British Grand Prix can be a breakthrough moment.
The Spaniard capitalised on Ferrari only pitting him for soft tyres during a Safety Car period and would overtake teammate Charles Leclerc to take the victory.
Beforehand, however, it had been a somewhat underwhelming race for Sainz, as his error had handed Max Verstappen the lead early on before the Dutchman ran into trouble.
Then it had been Leclerc who was the faster of the two red cars until the Safety Car intervened.
"It was not easy," Sainz admitted post-race. "I struggled quite a bit with the balance, especially on the Medium tyres. Max was forcing us to push a lot through the high-speed corners.
"Throughout I kept believing and I tried to stay in the race, and then the Safety Car gave me the opportunity to get back on it.
What an incredible restart!
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2022
Sainz makes his race-winning move as Hamilton and Perez scrap for P3 #BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GfqFcIkcXz
"You can imagine my nerves on that Safety Car restart and then getting it done and then the win!" he smiled.
"I don't know what to say. The first race win 150 races later, with Ferrari at Silverstone, I cannot ask for more.
"Silverstone is a special place for me. I got my first ever win here back in Formula BMW back in 2010, and now I've achieved exactly the same in F1 with Ferrari.
"It's amazing," he continued. "It's a very special day, a day I will not forget, a very special weekend in general."
Sainz had come close to his maiden win just two weeks earlier in Canada as he chased Verstappen for the final 15 laps but ultimately finished second.
🤩 What a race… first win in F1 and with @ScuderiaFerrari!! Thank you all for your unconditional support. Let's keep fighting!!! 💪🏼💪🏼
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) July 3, 2022
-#essereFerrari#Carlossainz pic.twitter.com/qOguIq7rIh
Now that the wait is finally over though, the 'smooth operator' hopes more will follow.
"I hope so!" he replied when asked if the victory was a breakthrough. "I think we are doing a step small every time.
"We need to see where the pace from practice went. I think I was the fastest guy in practice by a bit of a margin and I lost this going into the race.
"But if we understand this we will make a step for Austria."
