After the good pole position, at Silverstone the Spaniard has the great opportunity to go and take his first career victory. It won’t be easy, but that’s why he has good reason to hope
Giusto Ferronato
02 July
– silverstone (england)
All waiting for Charles Leclerc, king of pole positions. Everyone can easily imagine himself in front of the Max Verstappen group, who dominated FP3 and Q1 and Q2 with an updated and very fast Red Bull. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz’s red came out at Silverstone, who had the enormous satisfaction of hitting the first pole position of his career, on a Ferrari and on the legendary track that in F1 is as synonymous with speed as Monza. Not a bad location for a first time. Of course, everything happened in somewhat particular conditions, with the rain and on an asphalt that got wet, dried and rewetted on and off, it was a bit of a lottery. But this does not take away any merit from the great lap with which Carlos earned the right to start in front of everyone in tomorrow’s GP.
after 150 gp
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It took 150 GPs to hit this unforgettable pole, which takes on a considerable significance because Sainz finally beat Leclerc in qualifying, who this year had always preceded him on Saturday (apart from Canada, because there was no match in Q3. due to the engine penalties of the teammate). So why not imagine something more in tomorrow’s race too? Carlos beat Leclerc and also Max Verstappen, who seemed to have this qualification in hand. Instead the paw was his and this is an excellent signal for tomorrow’s GP.
weather factor
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Why can Sainz do it? First of all because if he still rains, he will run in conditions that he likes. The Spaniard has never hidden his love of driving in the wet and today he confirmed it, in a qualifying situation that was not easy at all. Ferrari confirmed very fast on the single lap and this is a good response after the weekend in Canada. With a good start and perhaps with an attack on Verstappen by Leclerc, who is immediately behind, one can also imagine a development in favor of the Iberian.
good pace
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Sainz could also do it because the F1-75 gives confidence in absolute performance and pace. Net of the reliability problems that they studied in Maranello to prevent them from happening again, in Montecarlo, Baku and Montreal, without forgetting the first leg of the race in Spain, the reds showed that they could play against Red Bull on the fundamental that most had put tire degradation in crisis at Imola and Miami. For different reasons, it didn’t end well in all these GPs, and yet what slowed the reds down was not the increased wear of the compounds during the race stints, but other factors. If tomorrow we see a linear race, it will be interesting to measure the progress of the Cavallino in this respect, which has become practically decisive when the challenge is played above all at pit stops.
hungry to win
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Finally Sainz can do it because he has a great motivation, that of those who finally want to win the first GP of his career. It is not so much the pole position on a track where it is easy to overtake the key factor, but the conviction and the growth trend that Carlos is showing to have. It is no secret that at the start of the season the son of the two-time rally champion was unable to adapt immediately to the F1-75. And yet he did not lose heart and as team principal Mattia Binotto said, he worked, studied and adapted to the situation to get the most out of the car. He did with what he had and these latest results are proving him right. This is a delicate phase of the World Championship, so much so that without too many problems we started talking about internal hierarchies in Ferrari, with a view to trying to concentrate attention on Leclerc in the hope of trying to undermine Verstappen. Sainz, however, responded as he should do those who do not give up on the idea. The race is tomorrow and tomorrow he has the opportunity in his hands to silence his critics, perhaps by trying to do what he failed to do in Montreal in the final laps against Verstappen. Carlos is there that revolves around the great result, the growth is there: the time has come to go and get it.
02 July 2022 – 19:22
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