Carlos Sainz Jnr says Ferrari will review the decision to start his final run in qualifying early after he was compromised by traffic.
His final run left him fifth on the grid, which became fourth after his team mate was penalised.Sainz said the car was quick but didn’t deliver its pace consistently, and the timing of his final run complicated matters further.
“It was tight,” he told media including RaceFans. “It was a bit of a stressful quali. But to be honest, the pace in the car was there, it was just a bit inconsistent. Some sets of tyres I had a lot of grip. Others for some reason I was struggling a bit more, but when it counted the grip and the confidence was there.
He said his confidence in the car wasn’t dented by his crash during second practice yesterday. “I think top three today was definitely on the cards for the pace I’ve had this weekend,” he said. “The confidence has always been there, even after the slight contact yesterday, today I was back on it straight away.
“I felt very strong all weekend, to be honest. A lot of pace in myself. That’s why not being able to maximise it due to external factors is disappointing. But it’s typical Monaco also.”
Speaking before the stewards confirmed the penalty for his team mate Charles Leclerc, Sainz was optimistic about his chances.
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“I think we have a strong chance of getting ourselves back on the podium if we execute a good race,” he said. “But at the same time we need to think that it’s going to be a long one, that we haven’t done a good job on Saturday and that we’ll probably pay the price tomorrow because we are too far behind.
“So I’m not happy about today. We should have been starting further up with a clean lap or with a less distracting lap or with a cleaner air lap.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
27th May 2023, 20:34
Well, he just got 1 position more since their team failed to inform Leclerc to get out of the way of Norris.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
27th May 2023, 22:28
Ferrari, Sainz, Leclerc the Bermuda triangle.
Mayrton
28th May 2023, 9:07
That quote sums up his racing career so far.