Carlos Sainz achieved the third pole of his career in Austin and starts from the first position this Sunday in the United States GP race. The man from Madrid, at the FIA press conference, explained his Saturday: “I had a good feeling from Q1 so it was a question of having a good final lap. It was difficult, very windy, there are corners where you don’t know what to expect and you have to have faith in the car. An adventure, but a lot of fun because Austin is a great track to drive and I really enjoyed it.”
The main rival in the race will be Verstappen, and Red Bull threatens less tire degradation on a Sunday in which strategies of up to three stops can be seen: “We are going to try everything we can to be in front and try to win the race . But we are realists, we know what Red Bull does on Sundays and how they run races and manage tires. It will be a good test, I would love to win tomorrow but I am realistic and I know it will be difficult”.
It is a 2022 of ups and downs for Sainz, but the third pole puts an end to a streak of good Saturdays in which the first position escaped by less than a tenth. “It is a very long year, from the beginning fighting with the car and taking the steps little by little. In the last seven races he was ahead fighting for pole, especially since the summer break, but in the dry he did not arrive. Now I have been able to solidify that lap”, affirmed Carlos. How to level up? “Keep working, trusting that one day it would arrive. Try to try different things in free practice, in the style of driving, in the electronics, in everything. Sometimes it goes wrong, other times it goes well and it allows me to progress. Maintaining faith and confidence that it was going to arrive is the key. And above all, make a good lap, sometimes I made a mistake in the last sector that dirty the lap “
Regarding the race, Sainz told AS that the pace of the F1-75 shouldn’t be a problem. The degradation, we will have to see: “This weekend has not been so bad for us in terms of race pace. But when there is a lot of degradation we suffer more than Mercedes and Red Bull, and there has been because it is hot, although the pace is good.
The Spaniard, as a former Red Bull driver, sent his condolences to the family of Dietrich Mateschitz and the energy team: “I send my condolences to his family and to the Red Bull family. I knew him a lot, I got help from him and I wouldn’t be in F1 if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have reached F1 without him. What it has done for the engine, not just for F1, for so many riders, in MotoGP, in so many sports. How he’s supported young talent because of his vision, because of his ideas, it’s just crazy.”
