Once again ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz qualified in fifth position for the sixth time in 2021 in his first season alongside Ferrari, waiting to consolidate his adaptation to the SF21 in the race.
The more than 13 seconds difference between pole position by Max Verstappen at Yas Marina this year and in 2020 show that the modifications to the Arab track have forced the drivers to once again find the limits on a renewed circuit with the firm intention of favoring overtaking in the race.
Used to leaving positive details When adapting to any new circumstance that they had to face, Carlos Sainz found himself out of rhythm during the three free practice sessions of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with an 8th position as the best result than did not presage a profitable Saturday for Ferrari.
However, # 55 went all out once it was time to face his rivals in qualifying and was again the fastest Scuderia driver on the track, even leaving behind Valtteri Bottas as he was the last of those who lowered 1:23 on the clock.
It’s back
“It has been a good recovery after a difficult Friday,” confessed Sainz after having suffered especially. “For some reason that we still don’t understand I was very uncomfortable yesterday with the car. Today we have already put all the aerodynamic parts of the race and everything has improved a lot since FP3, and I have felt comfortable again and I have been able to do what I have been doing in the last 6-7 races: go very fast in qualy too».
“With trust looking forward to tomorrow, because today’s laps of qualy, both Q1, Q2 and Q3 have all been very good», Continued the Madrilenian. However, the SF21 in the race will be significantly different from the qualifying one, a detail that Sainz does not overlook in his concern.
«The problem is that in race pace, I said it yesterday, with a setup and with a car that is not very similar to the one I drive today… I don’t have a very good referenceBut it can only be better, because the truth is that yesterday I was very uncomfortable. Thanks also to the team for knowing how to recover a difficult Friday, “he added.
Weak point … passed?
Except for the Mercedes and Yuki Tsunoda drivers, the rest of those who will start in the top ten in Yas Marina on the run will do so with the softest compound in the Pirelli range, a great ally for the first meters that probably is not so much in terms of wear.
Precisely the management of the tires will be Sainz’s greatest concern after what he experienced in qualifying. «Today has cost on the qualyBecause the first and second sectors, if I did it at the top, at the limit, then I would reach the third and lose. On the last lap of Q3 I decided save a bit in sector one and two and then attack in the third sector, and it has worked very well for me, I was able to go down to 22: 9»He explained.
“The soft tire is complicated; if you go a little below the limit it seems that it is a tire that holds »
“The soft tire is complicated, but if you go a little below the limit it seems that it is a tire that can hold the laps we need it to hold,” concluded Sainz, aware that his car tends to wear out the tires more than its rivals in equal conditions.