Carlos Sainz praises Ferrari strategy after qualifying turnaround lands P2

Russian Grand Prix

Sainz praises Ferrari strategy after qualifying turnaround lands P2

Sainz fought Q2 elimination before securing a front row start in Russia

Ewan Gale

Saturday 25 September 2021 18:48

Carlos Sainz has paid tribute to Ferrari's strategy in qualifying after securing a front row start for the Russian Grand Prix.

The Spanish driver was beaten only by Lando Norris as drivers switched from intermediate tyres to slicks in Q3 despite the track remaining damp in the final sector.

Sainz had struggled in the wetter conditions with a time that just allowed him to scrape into Q3 with his last lap of the session.

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"Right from the beginning, it was a very tricky qualifying," said Sainz. "Right after Q2, I could see there was a chance the slicks were going to come into play.

"We did a very good strategy pitting two laps until the end, taking the slick up to temperature and pulled out a pretty strong lap.

"Unfortunately, I was one of the first ones across the line which didn't allow me to exploit the full conditions but it was still a good lap on the limit."

Sainz to "put on a fight"

Sainz's long-run pace looked positive during Friday practice, with Ferrari aiming for a strong result in the race for third in the constructors' championship.

With all four Mercedes and Red Bull cars starting behind him, Sainz is hoping to provide some entertainment on track.

"This weekend, we are looking a bit stronger," added Sainz. "Our weakest conditions have been the inter, going into Q3 we still had a few issues to solve but in the dry, we have been competitive.

"There are the two Mercs and the Red Bull of [Sergio] Perez that are going to be much quicker tomorrow and we expect them to go through but we will put on a fight and try and have some fun."