Having started on supersofts, Sainz made a terrible getaway and slipped to last place off the starting grid before running wide at Turn 1 and later spinning under the safety car at Turn 2.

But as the rest of the field switched their intermediates for slicks, Sainz was able to regain his track position and showed great pace after the safety car.

“You must’ve seen the faces of my engineers, they looked at me like I was a bit crazy!” exclaimed Sainz of his decision. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw everyone else was on the intermediates.

“The risk paid off. You tell yourself it has to be the right decision, and suddenly when everyone pitted for [dry tyres] and knowing how wet it was in the first four corners and dry from then on, then I said ‘OK, now I’m the clever one now and not so stupid anymore!’

“It paid off, and sometimes when you’re in the midfield it’s worth taking these risks.”

"Super excited" over pace

Sainz said his pace after the safety car period was “incredible” as he was the fastest driver on track until his rivals ahead got their tyres up to temperature.

“It’s not only the gamble we took, it’s also the pace in damp conditions," he said. "After the safety car I saw myself catching Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes in front in the damp conditions – and I got super excited.

“Yesterday they were 2s faster than me, and today I’m catching them. It was incredible and I felt super-comfortable with the car. You cannot imagine how happy the team is.

“When you take this tough decision, there’s a lot of waiting before the start, thinking you might have blown a big result for the team. Suddenly, when it pays off, that adrenaline rush is massive!

“When you look at where the other midfield guys are, 35s back, it shows the enormous pace we had today and the brave risk we took.”