A challenging Saturday for Carlos Sainz
Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz had a difficult Saturday at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, starting with a rather violent incident during the final free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix that required the Ferrari mechanics to put in extensive work to ensure car #55, the SF-23, was ready for the start of Q1. The Spanish driver finished in eighth place, avoiding elimination in Q2, unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, Carlos Sainz is under investigation for impeding Pierre Gasly in Q1, an which was quite clear.
Carlos Sainz’s words
“It was a tough day from a psychological standpoint,” said Carlos Sainz to Sky Sport’s microphones. “After the incident in FP3, I didn’t want to have another off-track moment, although I had to push. In Q2, with the slicks, I did some good laps, although I wasn’t at 100%. In Q3, there was honestly a bit of bad luck with the red flag and rain because I think we had the potential to reach the top 3.”
Regarding the risk of a penalty for impeding Pierre Gasly, Sainz stated, “I have to look at what happened with Gasly. I was in the middle of four cars, and we were overtaking each other because we all wanted to cross the finish line as the checkered flag was coming out. We tried everything, but it’s true that in these conditions, I also faced impeding in 3-4 instances, but I didn’t open the radio to vent. I think the drivers get a bit too heated in these situations.” – the Ferrari man pointed out.
