Carlos Sainz is currently riding a wave of success. After the surprising pole position in Monza, the Ferrari driver followed up with an even more surprising second pole position in Singapore. Actually, based on the impressions from the training session, pole was definitely on the cards, but Ferrari wasn’t actually considered the favorite before the weekend.
But Sainz, the Ferrari SF-23 and Singapore – that seems to fit. “It feels very good,” enthuses the Spaniard after his first place. “I felt good from the first practice session and was then able to drive a good lap without making any mistakes in Q3. I knew I had the pace and could do it.”
The Spaniard set the fastest time in the first Q3 attempt, but was able to improve again in the second run and finally secured pole position by 0.072 seconds ahead of George Russell.
Ferrari driver Sainz satisfied with Q3 lap
The key to Sainz’s best time lay in the last sector, where he was the fastest with a time of 25.768 seconds and was able to make up the crucial time on Russell (25.865) and Leclerc (25.881).
“Keeping the tires alive for the last sector was my strength all weekend,” explains Sainz. “I made sure I kept that advantage in Q3 because in Singapore it’s always easy to overdo it and have a little moment here and there and lose the lap.”
But Sainz himself didn’t have the feeling that he had risked too much. “I managed a clean lap and had a strong last sector. That was enough for pole position,” he says. “I am very satisfied with that.”
Ferrari suddenly good on high downforce?
But where does the strong pace suddenly come from? Ferrari didn’t look good on high-downforce tracks this year and was therefore not considered a favorite before the weekend. “We always had problems and at most had the third, fourth or fifth fastest car,” says Sainz. “And suddenly we come to Singapore and are among the fastest, if not actually us.”
For him, this is a “pleasant surprise,” as he says. However, he also emphasizes that Ferrari has made very good progress and has worked hard to understand its high-downforce package. “The team did a good job putting it together for Singapore,” he praises.
“But it’s also true that this has always been a good track for Ferrari in the past,” he recalls the Scuderia’s three victories on this track. “It was a strong track for me too. I enjoy driving here. We did a good job, but the track also suits the car a little more than Zandvoort, for example.”
Where does Sainz get his form?
But it’s not just Ferrari that is currently in improved form, Sainz himself has also improved after the summer break. He won all three qualifying duels against his teammate Charles Leclerc, including two pole positions – and the Spaniard has not yet been defeated by Leclerc in the race either.
“It’s always small steps that you take in a season,” he says about his strong form. “During the summer break you have a little more time to relax and talk to the engineers to evaluate what works and what doesn’t work. Maybe that helped.”
“That’s why the last few races were a step forward, and now the goal is to keep it that way until the end of the season – and hopefully into next year with a more competitive car,” said Sainz.
Before that, however, there is another task ahead tomorrow, Sunday, namely catching up on what we missed in Monza. There they couldn’t beat Red Bull in the fight for victory, but that should be different in Singapore: “We’ll try to win tomorrow,” he clarifies.