Carlos Sainz was in contention for second place before his engine dramatically blew up and caught fire at the Red Bull Ring; F1 returns in two weeks in France with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday July 22
Sunday 10 July 2022 17:57, UK
Carlos Sainz said he had no warning of an issue before his "heartbreaking" Ferrari engine fire at the Austrian GP, also admitting that the prospect of a one-two and big points made the DNF "more difficult to take".
Sainz was running third and looked set to overtake Max Verstappen in Sunday's race before an ill-timed and costly engine blow-up before Turn 4.
The Spaniard pulled his car to the side of the track, with smoke and then flames billowing out of the engine. His car began rolling backwards while he was still stuck inside before he was helped by marshalls.
Ferrari have yet to diagnose the cause of the issue and Sainz told Sky Sports F1: "There was no feedback coming from the engine that this was about to happen, very sudden.
"I am a bit lost for words because this is obviously a big loss of points and result for the team today because I think it could have been an easy one-two.
"There's a lot of damage, for sure."
Sainz's retirement was also damaging for his and Ferrari's championship hopes. The British GP winner dropped vital points to Charles Leclerc and Verstappen in the title race.
"It is more difficult to take because we were about to cut the points to the leaders of the championship, both Max and Red Bull, to do a very big result for the team and one of the cars DNF," added Sainz.
"It is heartbreaking but we will need to keep pushing, turn the page and it is still a long season ahead."
Lewis Hamilton was delighted to end a difficult Austrian GP with a another 2022 podium, praising Mercedes for their work to salvage his weekend and for their car improvements to "chip away" at rivals.
Hamilton had a rollercoaster weekend in Spielberg, starting on a high with strong qualifying pace but then crashing out in Q3, and only gaining one position to eighth for the Sprint.
But the seven-time world champion enjoyed a fine race day, making his way up to fourth and then claiming a third podium in a row after Sainz's engine fire in the Ferrari.
With George Russell following in fourth, Mercedes out-scored both Red Bull and Ferrari and Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "This is a great recovery for us as a team. It's really good points."
He added: "I really feel great. I'm so happy with today, especially after such a difficult start to the weekend.
F1 2022 heads to France in two weeks. Join Sky Sports F1 across the weekend of July 22-24 with all sessions live.
