The qualifying session for the Qatar Grand Prix was quite disappointing for the Ferrari driver, who was eliminated at the end of Q2. The Spaniard had a lot of trouble finding grip, especially at the rear, so he wasn’t even too surprised by this forgettable evening.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend couldn’t have started worse for Carlos Sainz. Even though it was only Friday, it feels like the Ferrari driver’s Sunday has already been compromised. With the new format for race weekends including Sprint races, Friday’s qualifying session determines the starting grid for the main race, and things went really wrong for the Spaniard.
On a track made treacherous by the new asphalt and strong desert winds blowing sand onto the circuit, the son of a racing legend couldn’t establish the right feel for his SF-23. The main issue was with the rear end, and things got worse as darkness fell and temperatures dropped.
In these conditions, Carlos couldn’t perform at his best, and he ended up being eliminated at the end of Q2, even finishing with the 13th fastest time. He then inherited the 12th place on the Sunday grid thanks to a time penalty for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who also failed to make it into the crucial Q3 session. What’s peculiar is that the disappointment didn’t seem too overwhelming for Carlos Sainz; it’s almost as if he expected this setback.
“I had a very difficult qualifying session right from the start; I struggled a lot with the balance. The rear end was very unstable. During free practice, I was able to ‘switch on’ the tires and get decent grip with this new asphalt. But then, with lower temperatures, I couldn’t find grip, so I suffered a lot, and I’m not surprised I didn’t make it into Q3,” said Carlos Sainz in post-qualifying interviews.
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At the very least, there will be a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow because the Shootout Sprint, which determines the grid for the Sprint race, will be held under conditions similar to those of the free practice sessions in which the Ferraris were second and third. This gives them at least a glimmer of hope for a better performance, as performing worse would be tough.
“We hope to find a breakthrough tomorrow in the Sprint and have a better Saturday. But certainly, Sunday will be complicated starting so far back on a track that’s challenging for overtaking. Now, I’m focused on trying to do better tomorrow,” he concluded.
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