It wasn’t the qualifying session Carlos Sainz anticipated. The previous year’s winner crashed into the barriers at the last corner early in Q3, severely damaging the rear of his Ferrari and causing a red flag.
Fortunately, he wasn’t physically affected, only feeling disappointment. Carlos Sainz acknowledged that the mistake was his and attributed it to several factors: the lack of grip, a bump, and a touch of misfortune.
The Madrid-born driver explained that having to let some cars pass at the end of the circuit hindered his lap preparation, leaving him with cold tires as he approached the last corner.
“I was already on the cold side when I started my lap, and since it was Q3, I wanted a good exit from the last corner. The problem was that I was much slower entering compared to Q2 and Q1, and I wanted to accelerate earlier to make up that time; otherwise, I would lose a tenth in the first straight before even starting the lap. I underestimated the lack of grip with cold tires there.”
“I was under pressure, with another car approaching from behind, and I knew from the out lap that I would be slower in my lap.”
Another key factor, Carlos Sainz said, was a bump on the curb at turn 17 that caught him off guard. He takes responsibility and apologizes to the team for his misjudgment. This weekend has been completely different compared to 2023, as the Ferrari driver noted: “It’s strange how things can change from one year to the next. But as we’ve seen many times this year, getting the tires into the right window on a lap with our car is… quite difficult.”
“I had a couple of decent laps this weekend, but overall I was very inconsistent. Yesterday, I had issues with the brakes, which didn’t help my weekend preparation. Here, it’s about building confidence, making perfect laps from FP1 to Q3, and I didn’t do that this weekend. I struggled. I couldn’t find my rhythm yesterday, and today it was tough to get the tires and brakes into the window.”
It’s been an unusual weekend in many ways: Carlos Sainz pointed out that McLaren seemed to be hiding on Friday, with Norris improving by a second in FP3 compared to FP2, while “in Q3, they were only a tenth faster than in FP3, which is quite strange.”
“There’s something odd, probably, in tire preparation and how much can be extracted from the tires this weekend, because it’s not normal for there to be just a tenth between the fastest lap in FP3 and Q3.”
It’s been a day to forget for the Maranello team, especially since Charles Leclerc will start ninth due to his time being canceled for a track limit violation. So, it’s a fifth row all in red, with both drivers hoping for a turn of events to contend for top positions.
“The car seems quite damaged, and I don’t know what we will do. I just hope to have a normal race tomorrow, find the rhythm I had in Baku, and show good pace. I believe that once we find our rhythm during the race, we should be fine. It only took one lap with the tires’ magic to make everything work—I mean, the mistake I made isn’t typical and shows that there’s a very, very fine line between having grip and not having it. This weekend has been like that. So tomorrow, once I find my rhythm, we’ll be there.”
Carlos Sainz also discussed the much-debated tire issue, expressing confusion about what’s happening at some tracks where the tires have been tricky to manage. “Five to ten degrees below the optimal level means zero grip. And yes, even five to ten degrees above, there’s no adhesion. So, finding the right window is crucial.”
Despite the blow (both moral and otherwise), he remains optimistic for tomorrow’s race, especially with the added DRS zone compared to last year.
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