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Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz had wholesome interaction before the Hungarian GP. Brundle gave a new nickname to the Scuderia driver who already goes by the moniker 'smooth operator'.
Prior to the start of the Hungarian GP, Martin Brundle was in the midst of fan-favorite Formula 1 grid walk as he interviewed the celebrities and the drivers. When he saw Carlos Sainz walking to his grid spot, Brundle called him 'Carlito' in order to grab the attention of the Spaniard.
Carlos Sainz looked confused as he asked the Sky F1 pundit to repeat the new nickname.
"What did you call me?" Sainz asked.
When Brundle reiterated the name 'Carlito', the pair burst into laughter. Sainz chuckled when hearing the name as it translates to 'little man' in Spanish.
After laughing it off, Brundle asked the Ferrari driver to outline his expectations for the race starting 11th on the grid.
"I'm confident that we're at least going to have a bit of fun today, looking forward to the whole race. But at the same time it's going to be warm, it's going to be hard on tyres and that's where we struggle a bit so we need to be thinking both ways," Sainz replied.
Martin Brundle and his grid walks have become a prominent feature of race day. The former F1 driver was recently involved in a controversy with model Cara Delvingne.
Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, had a superb start to his race as he was up to sixth place by the time he reached the third corner of the race. His rally through the field stopped there as Charles Leclerc held position ahead of him.
Sainz ended up finishing the race in eighth position as Mercedes driver George Russell blazed through the field. The Ferrari duo finished seventh and eighth more than a minute behind the race winner Max Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz and Ferrari leave Hungary unsatisfied with the results
Ferrari was expected to perform well at Hungaroring, as the SF-23 responds well to the slow-speed corners. However, as the race unfolded Ferrari was clearly the fourth-fastest team behind Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren.
Carlos Sainz admitted his disappointment with the outing that resulted in an eighth-place result.
“I think we were all expecting a bit more. Especially on a slow speed track, we thought our car would respond a bit better,” he said post-race.
“But unfortunately, it’s been quite evident that we’ve finished quite far behind the McLarens, the Mercedes, and the Red Bulls which is what we need to keep focusing on.” he added.
Heading to Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari will be hoping for an upturn in results.
