Sainz bemoans "crappy" Portuguese practice despite P5 finish

Portuguese Grand Prix

Sainz bemoans "crappy" Portuguese practice despite P5 finish

The track conditions at Portimao provided a challenge for drivers

Ewan Gale

Friday 23 October 2020 21:05 Updated: 21:23

McLaren driver Carlos Sainz bemoaned a "crappy" day on Formula 1's return to Portugal as the entire field struggled to find grip at Portimão.

All drivers but Kevin Magnussen had a lap time deleted in first practice, whilst everyone continued to battle the rear-end of their cars in the second 90-minute session.

Sainz, who ended the day fifth fastest, insisted the team should be happy with the day despite the challenges faced.

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"It was crappy the whole way through the whole day," he said. "People doing a lot of mistakes, people getting out of phase so a lot of traffic, very low track grip compared to what we expected from this new surface so a challenging day for everyone.

"But we turned out at the top of the standings on a difficult day so we can not be too disappointed."

Lando Norris, who was third quickest, echoed his team-mate's thoughts, before going on to play down the significance of the double top-five times achieved by the team.

"[It was] very tricky," he said. "I am sure everyone will say the same. The new Tarmac is very slippery. Parts of the track are very slippery to other parts.

"It has made it a difficult day to get the balance correct and make myself comfortable in the car.

"We are not P3, we are a lot slower than that so we have a lot of work to do if we want to be anywhere near P3 tomorrow.

"We are trying to make some improvements and see if we can be happily inside the top 10. I think that is the aim. If we can get towards the top five then I think we can be happy."

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