Third row for Carlos Sainz
The third consecutive pole position at the Monza circuit for Ferrari didn’t materialize, nor did a second in a row in the Italian Grand Prix for Carlos Sainz, who last year snatched the first spot from Max Verstappen by a few thousandths. This time, the Spaniard placed his SF-24 ‘only’ in fifth position, albeit just 140 milliseconds off Lando Norris’s best time. But these are the incredibly close gaps that separate McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari in the ‘Temple of Speed.’
Speaking to Sky Sport F1 at the end of the qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz tried to explain where that tenth was lost, which dropped him from the front row to the third, pointing to the track temperature changes during the session as the culprit.
A matter of temperature
“Personally, I didn’t have any problems with the tires,” Carlos Sainz said. “What cost me a bit was in Q3 when the temperature dropped, affecting the performance of the front tires. In the second and third sectors, I lost a lot compared to Q1 or Q2 in the fast corners.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
“This is a shame,” continued Maranello’s #55, “because I was very happy with the first sector, and we added a lot of front wing to improve the front end, but even so, we weren’t strong in the second and third sectors. Perhaps the temperature dropped at the end, and it cost us that tenth, but we were in the fight.” – Carlos Sainz concluded.
