Sainz sees strong winds leading to 'lottery' race in Baku

Renault's Carlos Sainz sees a very unpredictable afternoon of racing ahead, as strong and inconsistent winds continue to swirl around Baku.

Sunday has dawned dry but windy once again, and the heavy gusts that have prevailed since the weekend got underway have grown stronger for race day. Coupled with cooler temperatures, low grip and the windy conditions could throw a spanner into the works when the light go off later today.

"It is a bit of a lottery when you are driving because sometimes you go into the corner there is a gust and there is no way you can turn the car in," Sainz said.

"It is something that is a lot more difficult that what people can imagine because it is inconsistent. It is throwing another variable into an F1 car in a street circuit which is particularly difficult.

"We are going to suffer as a Formula 1 cars generate hundreds more points of downforce and the car is more dependent on what is happening with the wind. It is really, really tricky out there."

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Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo believes conditions could impact tyre usage, mainly with regard to Pirelli's ultrasoft compound.

"The wind really affects the car a lot and I think the guy who wins will be the guy who makes fewest mistakes and has the least awful race car," Ricciardo said.

"It will be very challenging and the cold conditions, why the top drivers opted for the Supersofts, was because of the graining.

"The Ultrasoft is graining and with cold conditions it’s likely to grain even more," he added.

"The cold conditions will make this difficult to manage. I’m confident it’s going to be an interesting race as they’ll be a lot going on."

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