Carlos Sainz believes he can convert his shock front-row begin into what could be his first podium consequence 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 purple flags for crashes for Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri interrupted the session.
By the point Q3 resumed, situations had cooled and light-weight 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 for the reason that 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which George Russell changed into a second-place end, albeit with none racing laps being accomplished.
That consequence stays Williams’s most up-to-date podium. Earlier than that, the workforce’s earlier such trophy was claimed by Lance Stroll on the 2017 Azerbaijan GP.
Requested what his intention for the race could be, Sainz responded: “Attempt to stick it on the rostrum. I will give it my finest 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 means of. In case you have a look at our lengthy runs yesterday, we have been truly fairly fast, so I’m hopeful that we are able to 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 a lot 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 finest Saturday consequence 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 finally yr’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“Sadly, this yr has simply been a kind of years the place nothing comes collectively in relation to Sundays and outcomes,” he mentioned, 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.
“Right this moment in quali I felt good, and most significantly, we stored the automobile constant by means of the weekend. Each time there was an opportunity to place a lap collectively – which there weren’t many; I believe I did in whole three or 4 laps as we speak in quali given the purple 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 lately and never with the ability to get all of the factors that we deserve as a workforce is hard. But when the velocity is there and we’re working effectively on subsequent yr’s automobile, it doesn’t fear me.”
