F1 | French GP | “Today I felt at home with the car no matter the compound that I was on,” says Carlos Sainz after qualifying.
Sainz declares feeling more comfortable with the SF21. The Spaniard managed to qualify P5, making him the fastest car after both silver arrows and both Bulls.
Carlos Sainz had a good day at Paul Ricard. The Spaniard managed to get a 1:30.840 lap during Q3 to clinch the fifth place on the starting grid of tomorrow’s race in Le Castellet.
Sainz has been looking strong all weekend against teammate Charles Leclerc and carried that form through qualifying today.
While Ferrari clearly reverted back to where they usually were before Monaco and Baku, Sainz pipped AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly to 5th and continued to show signs of having a pace advantage on McLaren as they battle for P3 in the Constructors' Championship.
“Not a bad day for the team. After a couple of eventful Saturdays, it’s good to have a clean quali like today. We managed to extract the potential of the car and show the progresses we have made in this type of tracks," said Sainz.
"On my side, I continue to adapt and learn from the different conditions and corners, and today I felt at home with the car no matter the compound that I was on.
“We are in a good position for the race tomorrow and we’ll try to maximize every opportunity. Yesterday our race pace was not bad, but I expect a tight battle with our main competitors. A clean first lap and a good strategy will be essential to leave France with a good result."
