Sainz relieved with P8 after earlier struggles

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Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz says he was relieved to secure eighth position on Sunday's grid following a difficult start to his qualifying session Saturday afternoon.

The Spanish driver concluded his morning free practice session with a solid P7 but was suddenly confronted with an ill-handling Toro Rosso when qualifying kicked off a couple of hours later.

"We can call it a good day, but not a perfect one," Sainz Jr. explained when the session all was said and one.

"We started qualifying very far off in balance and didn't understand why, we lacked a lot of stability on the car and it wasn't giving me a lot of confidence.

"So I had to restart a bit with the confidence and go little by little instead of pushing from the beginning, it was not the perfect start but it ended up quite well so I can be quite happy with that."

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While his passage into Q2 was relatively easy, Sainz feared he wouldn't make into Q1, ending the second installment 10th with access to Q3.

"It was very tight, as expected, I was even more worried when I saw I was not more comfortable with the car and it was taking a lot of effort to put laps together," he commented.

"Yesterday the lap was coming very easily, today, with all my effort it was very difficult to put laps together.

"I was struggling at that point in Q1 and Q2; all of a sudden everything in Q3 came a bit better together, but it was still not as perfect as yesterday."

Gallery: all the pics from Saturday's action

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.