Sainz: Ferrari is back where it should be

Granted, it was not an easy race for Sainz who was struggling to keep up with his teammate Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen chasing the Monegasque hard, but the way Red Bull's race unraveled, both cars out of contention, due to a fuel pump issue, meant the Spaniard was there to grab P2.

"Well first congrats Charles and Ferrari. Ferrari are properly back with a 1-2, where the team should be. The hard work is paying off and we are there," the Spaniard said after the race.

"For me it’s been a very tricky weekend I'm not going to lie. I didn’t have the pace today but I managed to hold it and bring the 1-2 for the team."

The 27-year-old was honest over the course of the Bahrain weekend, admitting that he was yet to get on top of the F1-75's handling as his teammate did, adding: "I have some homework to do over the next few days and I'm sure I'll come back stronger."

Sainz launched his attack on Verstappen right after the Safety Car - deployed to clear Pierre Gasly's burning AlphaTauri - with the Dutchman, suffering steering problems, holding his ground right until his RB18 let go.

He reflected: "At the restart I had a strong chance because I had a clean restart behind Charles and Max, Max defended well to be fair.

"Suddenly I saw flashing red lights at the back of Max's car and I thought 'OK now's my chance' and I went for it. He was unfortunate, he was driving well enough to get for P2 but I had a good run on him.

"It is what it is and it's good for Ferrari," Sainz maintained.