Carlos Sainz has inherited his first Formula 1 podium following Lewis Hamilton's penalty at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard had it all to do on Sunday after an engine problem in qualifying left him at the back of the grid, but a one-stop strategy - and a lot of hanging on in the final laps - saw Sainz cross the line in fourth.

That became third after the world champion was given a five-second penalty for colliding with Alex Albon, but then Sainz faced his own investigation as one of six drivers who reportedly used DRS under yellow flags.

The result of that was no further action meaning Carlos kept the place and McLaren have their first top-three finish since Melbourne 2014.

"It’s a special day for me, for the team, because we just did everything that we could do, we did it right," Sainz said even before learning of his promotion.

"Everything that was in our hands, we did it very well. It was maximum attack from Lap 1, the moves on [Sergio] Perez, the Alfas, the Haas, everything was just… I made it stick every time I could.

"One of those days as a driver where everything happens and clicks. Just very, very happy."

Unsurprisingly, after the news came through, that delight was just a little bit stronger.

"PODIUM!" he simply began in a tweet. "A bit weird not being there after the race, but still extremely happy.

"Today's race was just unbelievable. The one-stop strategy was difficult but paid off. Congrats to the whole team!"