Carlos Sainz explains issue in last Q3 run after P7 on grid for F1 Belgian GP. Carlos Sainz performed excellently in the Belgian qualifying until the final Q3.

Making a mistake at the crucial moment is never pleasant. Carlos Sainz knows this well, having performed excellently in the Belgian Grand Prix qualifying until the final Q3 attempt, which was done on new Intermediate tires. In the end, while Charles Leclerc took pole position, while Carlos Sainz had to settle for eighth place at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

This was a strong disappointment for the Spaniard, as he had shown he had the potential to challenge Sergio Perez for the front row – the Mexican will start second tomorrow – and even contend with his Maranello teammate for pole position.

Instead, Carlos Sainz found himself dealing with a set of Intermediates that provided less grip than the used set he had used in his first Q3 attempt. An anomaly that the Spanish driver thought might stem from a mistake in the preparation of the set, possibly not getting it into the right operating window.

“I paid the price with the last set. I don’t know why. I was fast throughout the qualifying, but with the last new set used in Q3, I had even less grip compared to the used set in the previous attempt.” – the Ferrari driver explained – “Maybe I did something wrong in the warm-up lap, maybe I didn’t prepare it well and lost everything in the last attempt. This bothers me because I was fast throughout the session.”

With Qualifying behind him, the drivers now have to prepare for tomorrow’s race, which is expected to be dry according to weather forecasts. Additionally, there’s the factor of the new track surface on most of the track, which was noticed in the practice sessions yesterday and today, stressing the front tires and generating graining that the teams will need to manage well.

“Clearly, there’s something this new asphalt does to the front tires because it destroys them. There’s a lot, a lot more graining compared to previous years, and in the race, we’ll have to try to manage it. We’ll see how the teams have adapted to this phenomenon,” concluded Carlos Sainz at the end of the qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.