Third on the grid with one eye on Checo and Leclerc, ahead, and another on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, just behind. Carlos Sainz expects a Sunday of strong emotions at the Saudi Arabian GP. AS asked him in Jeddah about the next start and the Madrid native, visibly unhappy with the end of qualifying (he set his best lap with a used tire because the sensations did not come with the new Pirelli), keeps the best: “I hope an exciting start, honestly, Checo is in front with Charles and behind is Max. I on the clean side, the Red Bull (from Verstappen) through the dirty area. At the same time, there is so much grip in this grip that even the dirty area doesn’t make much of a difference. The race is going to be fun, I’m looking forward to it, there is a great battle ahead with four cars in just a few tenths, as we have seen in this qualifying. It is great news for Formula 1 and for the drivers that we can fight, with respect for each other, and with a great fight this Sunday.”
Regarding the incident that paralyzed the grand prix last Friday, he commented: “(The pilots) we were discussing among ourselves all the scenarios, we are twenty pilots with twenty considerations, it always takes time, and we concluded that the best thing was to listen to the authorities and trust them. There’s nothing more we can do.”
