After returning to the podium at the Singapore Grand Prix, the Italian team driver from Madrid reached the classification of the Japanese Grand Prix with the aim of achieving the second pole position of his sports career.
From the start, Ferrari proved to be at least Red Bull’s level, although this weekend it seems that in the energy drink team only one of its two drivers is getting the most out of the RB18, Max Verstappen.
The Dutch driver, who leads the world championship and who this Sunday could win his second title in the highest category of motorsport, got pole position in Suzuka with a time of 1:29.304, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz himself, who finally he crossed the checkered flag in third position just 0.057 seconds off the poleman .
As soon as he got out of his Ferrari F1-75, the Spanish driver admitted to having had a good feeling behind the wheel of his car, but regretted the fact that he had lost another pole position by a minimal difference, something that has become customary this season.
“Well, it has gone quite well, the truth is that I have been comfortable with the car, I have done quite good laps, but again that half a tenth that we need to get a pole in the dry”.
“It makes me quite angry, because I see that it is very close, I have been like this for a few races, but for some reason that last half-tenth always falls on the other side.”
“I’ll keep the positive, I’ve done a pretty good lap, a pity the last chicane that I missed a tenth or a tenth and a half and that obviously cost us pole, but I’m sure everyone will be something has escaped,” added the #55 Ferrari driver .
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Carlos Sainz reckoned that if they want to beat Verstappen, they would have a better chance with a crazy race in changeable conditions .
“Both dry and wet this weekend I’m going fast, so hopefully I’ll be in the fight tomorrow. Now we have to wait and see what the wind and rain do, they’re coming.”
“I don’t care, if we want to beat Max, we know that in the dry and in the race they go very fast, in addition to taking better care of the tires, so maybe a mixed race, in which a little bit of everything happens, we can take advantage of it. But everything will be very close between the three”, he concluded.
At the moment, Sainz is in fifth position in the drivers’ championship with 202 points, just one behind George Russell, 33 behind Sergio Pérez and 35 behind his teammate Leclerc, so he could still finish the season as runner-up of the world if he manages to chain a good streak of results in this end of the course.
