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Rowland and Sainz have no animosity after Moscow FR3.5 clash

Formula Renault 3.5 championship rivals Carlos Sainz Jr and Oliver Rowland are still on good terms with each other following their clash at Moscow Raceway last weekend

Points leader Sainz was given a two-place grid penalty for turning in on Rowland as the Briton tried to pass him down the inside into the final corner in race one on Saturday.

Their collision put Rowland out of the race, and while Sainz hit out at the officials following his penalty, Rowland revealed that the two drivers had no problem with each other over the incident - which came as they fought over 17th place after both had stalled on the grid before the start.

"We haven't fallen out, we were chatting about it afterwards," Rowland told AUTOSPORT.

"He didn't give me room, but the penalty may have been a bit harsh.

"It's difficult - we were both frustrated to be racing for 17th place and that probably came into it."

While Sainz and DAMS struggled for speed all weekend, Rowland and Fortec were on the pace, and he believes that played a part in Sainz being so fierce with his defence.

"He knew I could make good progress and he wanted to keep me behind him, which I completely understand," Rowland added.

"I was ambitious and he wasn't going to give. But I didn't complain about it."

DAMS PROMISES RECOVERY

Last weekend marked the first event this year where DAMS - which won the championship with current McLaren Formula 1 racer Kevin Magnussen last year - was off the pace, and the team has vowed to return to form next time out at the Nurburgring.

The team's managing director Francois Sicard said: "It's obvious that we put on an under-par performance compared to our usual standards.

"We were unable to adapt to the changing conditions and we were always playing catch-up.

"As a result, the drivers didn't have cars that met their requirements. We have to analyse this.

"You can count on us being back fighting at the front in the next race."

Sainz, who felt that DAMS was lacking mechanical grip, particularly in the low temperatures on Saturday, still leads the championship by 33 points ahead of fellow Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly.

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