Felipe Nasr believes that his early pitstop cost him a better result after finishing 16th at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.

After a better qualifying performance, the Brazilian made a good start, and found himself just outside a points scoring position in the opening few laps.

However, a slow puncture forced him to make an early pitstop, and the 23-year-old had to settle for 16th ahead only of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas and Pascal Wehrlein’s Manor.

“I had a good start and was able to gain some positions in the first laps of the race,” he said.

“Unfortunately, on my first stint with the supersoft tyres, I had a slow puncture on the left front tyre, which forced me to box on lap 12. We changed to the soft tyres on which I made it to the end.

“This early pit stop surely compromised my race. It is unfortunate, but I can also take some positives from the weekend as I felt comfortable in the car.”

Nasr seems to have got to grips with the this year’s Sauber, after complaining about problems with the new chassis earlier this season, but he’s still yet to beat his teammate when both have gone the race distance.