In the shortest circuit of the year in terms of times, Carlos Sainz was the only driver, apart from his teammate, able to get close to a Max Verstappen who achieved pole position for another year.
The almost 2 tenths that Charles Leclerc usually takes out Carlos Sainz on average when it comes time for qualifying were reduced, in the 11th round of the 2022 season and on the occasion of the Austrian GP, to 53 thousandths.
It is true that the Red Bull Ring is the circuit on the calendar in which the drivers usually register their lowest times throughout the yearlargely due to the scarce 4,318 meters that the route occupies, with times that usually exceed a minute by a few seconds.
The #55 closed the ‘accordion’ of a Top 3 that was separated by just 82 thousandths between Max Verstappen, poleman again at Red Bull’s house, and a Sainz who was the last to really approach #33, since the next on the list, Sergio Pérez, is already more than 4 tenths behind his teammate.
good tonic
“When you look back, and you see how tight it’s been… you look around the lap and you see those places where you had that tenth or that thousandth to get that poleSainz said as soon as he got out of an F1-75 on which he got his first victory just a week ago. “But surely they also know where they have lost or where they have been able to win.”
“We had a good lap at the end of Q3, it wasn’t easy because the tires were very cold after the red flag. I have trusted the car in turns 1 and 3, which has not been easy, “continued the Spanish Ferrari driver. «I wish I could have done a little betterbut happy with that 3rd place and being close to these guys.
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Immersed in a season in which he initially sowed many doubts with several retirements after starting on the podium, Sainz is aware that he still has work to do if he wants to try to fight for the title in the second half of the year.
“I’m on it. This qualifying has been strong, I haven’t risked too much in Q1 or Q2 and I was able to go for it in Q3. I believe that we are making progressI am certainly much more comfortable and confident after the last few races, although there is still work to be done.”
«I start 3rd, on the fair side… everything can be fought»
Finally, Sainz did not close the door to opt for victory in a weekend with a different format. «Tomorrow we have the free ones, we will do long runs and we will test the tires to build confidence so we can go for it in the quali sprint I start 3rd, on the fair side… everything can be fought for. It’s going to be quite fun, because there’s a lot of slipstream here, DRS… it’s going to be a good weekend”, he concluded.