Carlos Sainz reveals Max Verstappen unintentionally hindered Ferrari in Lusail Sprint Qualifying. How Max Verstappen inadvertently affected Ferrari's performance in Qatar.

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has detailed how Max Verstappen inadvertently affected the Maranello team’s performance during the sprint qualifying session for the Qatar Grand Prix at the 5.419-kilometre Lusail International Circuit.

Following a strong showing in the single practice session, both Carlos Sainz and his Maranello teammate Charles Leclerc were ultimately overshadowed in sprint qualifying. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc secured fourth and fifth positions on the grid, but they were almost three-tenths of a second behind pole position holder Lando Norris, leaving Ferrari to reflect on a missed opportunity.

Charles Leclerc expressed that Ferrari’s promising practice times felt like a distant memory, as both drivers struggled during SQ3. Carlos Sainz, in particular, faced difficulties, including having to abandon his first flying lap. A key factor in this setback was Max Verstappen’s slow pace in his Red Bull, which caused a disruption in the traffic and prevented Carlos Sainz from completing his lap to the best of his ability. Max Verstappen, who eventually qualified in sixth, was a contributing factor to the challenges faced by Ferrari in the session.

“Unfortunately, we had a situation where I went into Sector 1 and Sector 2 with Max in front, and he was preparing his tyres, so I had quite a bit of dirty air following him around. On top of that, the car balance was just off, we picked up a lot of understeer on the medium tyre, which meant we were just simply struggling to turn the car, then I needed to cool the tyres for a couple of laps. When I went again, the understeer balance was still there, but I needed to put a lap in, it was enough for P4. It was not easy under pressure, but with the balance of understeering off track, it was quite easy to get a track limit, but we got it done.” – Carlos Sainz explained at the end of the Lusail Sprint Qualifying session in Qatar.

Regarding the discrepancy between Ferrari’s strong practice performance and their underwhelming sprint qualifying results, Carlos Sainz advised caution when interpreting practice times. He emphasized that it is often misleading to place too much weight on practice pace, particularly in an environment where numerous unpredictable factors can influence the outcome. Carlos Sainz pointed out that the variables present during qualifying, such as tire performance, track conditions, and traffic, can dramatically affect a team’s ability to translate their practice form into competitive qualifying results. As a result, he stressed the importance of staying grounded and not drawing premature conclusions based on practice alone.

“I never try and read too much into FP1 because you never know what the fuel loads and engines modes the others are running. But the good news is that the car was feeling better in terms of balance than expected. But we went into quali still worried that our rivals could be quicker here, and that is what we saw. We didn’t maximise our package, and even though our lap was clean, it was a lap with a lot of understeer in the car, I just basically couldn’t turn the car for the whole lap.” -the Ferrari driver concluded.