Forced to come back on a circuit that offers few chances of overtaking, even if there are some. Carlos Sainz starts 15th in the Saudi Arabian GP after qualifying marked by a save that looked like that, saved, but actually damaged the Ferrari just enough to not be able to set a time in Q2. He lost control at turn eleven and almost certainly avoided an accident, but the rear wing brushed the wall and snapped in two. On the return, on his next attempt, there was not enough speed to pass and he had to abort the lap.
“A disappointment, because I was going very fast all weekend and in Q1, the car and I were going very fast. Very confident. Unfortunately, there was a moment of oversteer at Turn 11 that I had not had all weekend During the week, I did it thoroughly the same as in Q1 and for some reason that I must understand, I lose the car. I managed to save it, but with the bad luck that the rear wing broke it because it brushed the wall. With a broken rear wing, you’re not going anywhere on this track. It only bent when I carried it heavily, but it was split in two. I was going straight on the straights, but I was winning in the fast left-hand corners, “explains the pilot.
His career is committed: “You can overtake, but not much. We are going to try, I have always done well in Formula 1 races when I started from behind and I am going to try to make a good comeback and score. It is a day to go on the attack and many things can happen ahead, because it is a very different circuit from the rest. At any moment everything can change and you can have a stroke of luck that puts you back in the fight. “
The circuit convinced him, with nuances: “Fun, very funny, but a little too dangerous in some places.” The Ferrari was up to the task on a straight track, but also with nuances that, in this case, the driver blames himself: “It was already either in Baku or in Silverstone, There is no clear trend, suddenly there are circuits where the car adapts well and we go fast. But it was to have made it in the top five, easy. “