Carlos Sainz Jnr says his surprise qualifying performance in Baku shows qualifying hasn’t been a weakness for him during his difficult first season at Williams.
Sainz came close to scoring Williams’s first pole position since 2014 today, leading much of Q3, before he was pipped by Max Verstappen at the end of the session. He said he was “very happy” with the result.
“We’ve nailed qualifying today: being on the right tyre at the right time and putting together some very strong laps.
“Obviously the moment that a top car was going to put that lap together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind like we are always. But it was only one of them, which was Max, so I’m not surprised. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. We were in P2, which is great news.”
He has only scored 16 points so far this season compared to team mate Alexander Albon’s 70. However Sainz says his qualifying performances have compared well to Albon’s.
“I’ve been putting good laps together this year in qualifying,” he said. “It hasn’t been my weakness or my issues at all.
“Again, today we proved that the speed on this car and this team is there. I’m delivering in qualifying when it counts.
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“Unfortunately, just the year in terms of races and points it’s not going the way we want. But as long as the speed is there, which again today proves the point, the good races will come and I’m not worried.”
He said he is aiming to score Williams’s first rostrum finish for four years in the grand prix. “I’ll try to stick it on the podium.
“I think I’m going to give it my best to give Williams the first podium. If it’s possible, great, and if it’s not, we will see.”
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