The Spanish driver was behind the two Red Bulls and his teammate throughout the weekend at the 2022 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, so it seemed very difficult that he could fight for pole position in the final classification of the Saturday.
Carlos Sainz finished in fourth position in the last free practice sessions of the morning in Baku, more than four tenths off Sergio Pérez’s best time, and the Madrid native went against the tide from the start. After making it through to the round that would decide the race grid positions, Q3, without any major problems, he surprised by posting the fastest lap on the first attempt on soft tyres, beating Leclerc by a few thousandths.
However, the Spaniard still had to finish off to claim the first pole position of his career, and was unable to do so due to a mistake in the first sector that left him in fourth place, just behind the cars from Milton Keynes and the poleman , his teammate.
“A pity, I was doing pretty well throughout qualifying, it was a step up from Free Practice 3, and I was in contention for pole position,” said Sainz. “Looking for the limit, that last tenth of the car, I made a mistake in turn 2, I was too aggressive with the throttle, and that’s what it is when you look for that maximum.
“When you go for pole position, these things happen,” the Madrid driver of the most successful team in history explained to the DAZN F1 microphones. “The good thing is that I have been in the whole classification closer and in the fight.”
When asked about tomorrow’s appointment, Sainz assured that they could be fighting with the Austrian cars face to face: “I think we are in the fight and tomorrow Red Bull will be difficult to beat with the pace they have in the race, but starting first You can play with the strategy, the start and with overtaking”.
“If there is a circuit in which the starting position does not matter so much, it is here in Baku, and I think anything can happen,” said the Madrid native, who will try to become the first driver to win starting from fourth place.
During free practice, Sainz had many problems with porpoising , and when putting this issue on the table, he said: “Especially yesterday, I had a floor that caused a lot of rebound and crushed my back, but today we have already managed to improve it and everything was a little calmer. I hope that in the future, these cars stop doing these things, because if not, hard years await us”.
