Carlos Sainz believes he can convert his shock front-row begin into what could be his first podium end result for Williams after benefiting from a chaotic qualifying session on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sainz will line up second alongside pole-sitter Max Verstappen after acing his first flying lap of Q3 earlier than crimson flags for crashes for Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri interrupted the session.
By the point Q3 resumed, circumstances had cooled and lightweight rain was sprinkling the circuit. Solely Verstappen was capable of get inside 0.1s of the Spaniard’s banker lap, securing Sainz a spot on the entrance row.
It’s Williams’s first front-row begin because the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which George Russell become a second-place end, albeit with none racing laps being accomplished.
That end result stays Williams’s most up-to-date podium. Earlier than that, the staff’s earlier such trophy was claimed by Lance Stroll on the 2017 Azerbaijan GP.
Requested what his goal for the race could be, Sainz responded: “Attempt to stick it on the rostrum. I’ll give it my greatest to provide Williams a primary podium.”
Later he added: “We’ll attempt to preserve it constant, see the tempo of the automobile versus each one of many leaders that can attempt to come by way of. In the event you take a look at our lengthy runs yesterday, we had been really fairly fast, so I’m hopeful that we will go for it tomorrow.”
A podium-size haul of factors would go a way in direction of shrinking the hole between him and teammate Alex Albon, who has led Williams for many of the season. The Thai driver, who crashed out of Q1 in Baku and can begin nineteenth, is seventh on the title desk with 70 factors, 11 locations and 54 factors forward of Sainz.
Whereas much less has separated the teammates in qualifying, that is comfortably Sainz’s greatest Saturday end result for Williams, his earlier high-water mark having been a trio of sixths between Jeddah and Imola. The Spaniard’s final front-row begin was for Ferrari ultimately 12 months’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“Sadly, this 12 months has simply been a kind of years the place nothing comes collectively with regards to Sundays and outcomes,” he stated, defending his outcomes. “However as we speak simply proves that my velocity is there – that at any time when I put good laps collectively and nothing occurs to us, I’m fast.
“At this time in quali I felt good, and most significantly, we saved the automobile constant by way of the weekend. At any time when there was an opportunity to place a lap collectively – which there weren’t many; I believe I did in complete three or 4 laps as we speak in quali given the crimson flags – the lap was good.
“I’ve the velocity, and so long as that’s there, I don’t fear. Simply having a little bit of unhealthy luck or too many racing incidents just lately and never having the ability to get all of the factors that we deserve as a staff is hard. But when the velocity is there and we’re working properly on subsequent 12 months’s automobile, it doesn’t fear me.”
