Carlos Sainz set a exclamation sign in Baku: The Williams driver drove to second place in chaotic qualifying and thus ensured his best result since the change from Ferrari.
“I knew that the round was good, but probably not good enough for Pole. Of course it had to be Max, who was still beating me,” says Sainz after the session.
The Spaniard was actually in first place over large parts of Q3. He was one of the first to set his quick round, while red flags behind him stopped the session due to the accidents of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piatri.
In addition, light rain started. Had the route worsened a little more, Sainz’s round would have remained unbeatable.
“At that moment I thought briefly: Maybe that’s enough for the poles,” explains Sainz. “But then I knew that Max or Lando would be even faster if they could get a clean round. And that’s exactly how it happened.”
Vowles praises: “Carlos needed this result”
Williams team boss James Vowles is very satisfied after the qualification – and relieved. “Carlos needed this result,” he says at Sky. “It was a very chaotic day with six red flags. But every time it went on, he was there immediately and got faster and faster.”
The Briton emphasized how important the preparatory work was. “We have worked for the last one and a half weeks why we are so weak in qualifying – especially when warming up the tires. Today the team did a fantastic job today. Every time Carlos went on the track, the tires were in the right window. That made a difference.”
The strategic decision to rely on the medium tire also proved to be correct. “The medium was simply the better tire – ourselves. We held on it, and that was the key at the end,” said Vowles.
Sainz analyzed: round as a gambling
At the famous Skypad, Sainz took away his near-pole group again. The wind in particular made the difference. “Sometimes you don’t have a grip at all because the wind is gone. Then you are suddenly one and a half tenth faster when it is there,” he explains. “So somehow you have to find a middle ground – it’s pure gambling.”
In curve one everything was stuck at the right moment: “If you catch a tailwind, you can’t take the curve at all. In the event of a headwind you suddenly pull through.” Then the next adventure was waiting: curve two, curve three, the first drops of rain and the many white lines on the track. “You never know which grip you get,” said Sainz.
The Spaniard is particularly proud of the castle segment in the second sector. “That was probably the best thing about the round. I knew that if I risk everything here, it might even be enough for the front.”
Risk on the limit: either you can make it – or you crashes
Sainz impressively describes how close he had to go to the walls in the round. “It’s about sliding so much that you don’t just fall into the wall yet. But if you hit the curve head wrong, you are immediately outside.”
In curve 15 – one of the key points in Baku – he put everything on one card. “For me this is the craziest curve in the calendar. You know: either you can get it or you end up in the wall. There is nothing in between.” His reference points are exactly on the hundredths: “I brake exactly on the 100-meter sign. In your head you think it is later, but you actually press it right there.”
In the end, he brought the round to the finish line – without slipstream, which, according to his own statement, cost him “two to three tenths”. “But that was the round we needed. I knew that more risk brings nothing out of danger.”
Sainz: I have the speed – I don’t doubt that
For Sainz, P2 was not only an individual success, but also an important confirmation after an otherwise mixed season. “Qualifying was never my problem this year. I always delivered when it came down to it. It was more the races that cost us the points – through incidents or bad luck.”
It is all the more important that with Williams he was now able to demonstrate the punch in qualifying. “As long as the speed is there, I’m not worried. The points and the good results will come in the race.”
The personal meaning was also to be seen: “This is my best result with Williams. The change from Ferrari was not easy. But such a starting place shows that we are on the right track.”
A special reunion with Verstappen
The pole went to Max Verstappen, but the first series of starting series was something special for both drivers. After all, Sainz and Verstappen started in Formula 1 at Toro Rosso in 2015. “It’s great to stand next to Max ten years later,” says Sainz.
“We had a very intensive rookie year at the time, we both learned a lot. I think this time made this time the drivers we are today.” And he adds: “I am proud to fight with people like Max, against whom I have already driven my whole career at eye level. That is what makes Formula 1 so special.”
Verstappen grins on the question: “To be honest, I have no idea how often we were together in the front row. But I’m always happy to fight with Carlos.”