Carlos Sainz’s error in qualifying on Saturday sent him to the bottom of the Top 10 on the grid thanks to the fact that the rain after his accident made it impossible to improve lap times, a problem that was partially solved today in the sprint.
After an Australian Grand Prix to forget, in which his qualifying session was marked by various unexpected setbacks and the race did not last even one lap for him, Carlos Sainz arrived at Imola with renewed spirits after renewing until the end of 2024 with Ferrari.
However, a new classification error forced him to start from 10th position at sprint losing control of his car in changeable conditions, a session at sprint in which he managed to recover up to 6 positions despite a Safety Car in the early stages.
Despite this good news, with a fourth starting position on Sunday that put him back in the fight for the podium and maybe even victory, the #55 confessed that He still can’t find the point of an F1-75 that is still elusive.
incessant worker
“Happy to be able to start tomorrow in the top 4, that was the goalSainz acknowledged. «It was a clean race, without problems: good start, good overtaking. Now to prepare tomorrow’s race, it seems that the Red Bulls have a little more this weekend and we are going to have to find something if we want to stand up to them.”
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Will it rain in the race after most of the qualifying was played in the wet and Free Practice 2 and sprint dry? “It gives us more 30-40% chanceso it is possible that at some point it rains, “revealed the man from Madrid, aware that they still have work to do in a more favorable appointment for their main rivals than for them, according to their own words.
«If it rains we will have fun, otherwise we will have to see how we can correct that deficit that we have with Red Bull. Happy for my part with the pace there at the end of the race, but it seems that they have less degradation, “added Sainz.
latent discomfort
Asked if he is finally comfortable aboard his car, after mounting a new engine and showing signs of improvement in Melbourne, Sainz replied disgruntled.
“The million dollar question”, he blurted out with a bittersweet smile on his face. “Not really, but mistakes like yesterday’s would not happen,” said Sainz, knowing that he must raise the level and adapt to his new car to qualify for everything.
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«I am not 100% comfortable with this car.I’m fighting all I can to find that feelingbut on a weekend sprint the truth is that I have not been able to try the things that I would like. Until then to continue working hard to see what I can find, and if not, well… it will come» Sainz closed.