93 thousandths of a second. So much (or so little) was enough to relegate Carlos Sainz Jr. to third place at the end of qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Since yesterday the Ferrari driver showed he could have his say in the fight for pole on the Zandvoort track but, despite an excellent last lap done with new Soft tires, the Madrid-born was relegated to third place.
So tomorrow he will start from the first box of the second row, but with the awareness of being able to fight for the victory with Max Verstappen – author of the pole – and with his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Sainz said he was happy with his last lap. No mistakes made despite being at the limit, but the leader of the World Championship and the second in the standings were faster. Slightly, of course, but that was enough to put the Spaniard behind them.
“I did a clean and error-free lap. I missed that last half-tenth to beat Charles and Max, but I was at the limit ”.
“Every little meter of track you managed to use counted. It wasn’t an easy qualifying in all three rounds, but in the end we did a decent job ”.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
After today’s good performance, Sainz concentrated on trying to read tomorrow’s race. Ferrari’s drag is high and tire degradation is equally high, which is why strategies should include at least 2 stops.
“It’s very tough on this track, especially with these heavier cars. There is a lot of drag and it is a very demanding track with the tires, there is a lot of overheating and in the long runs we have seen a lot of degradation ”.
“I think tomorrow will be an interesting day. A lot of things could happen even if on this track it is very difficult to overtake. There will also be many opportunities at a strategic level ”, concluded the Ferrari driver.
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