F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Sainz finally back on pole on merit: 'It was a lot of fun!'

Carlos Sainz was delighted to be back on pole position this weekend, after a series of near misses in recent races had left him frustrated.

Sainz has been on pole twice before this season, the first time on merit at Silverstone, while the second in Belgium was thanks to an engine grid penalty for Max Verstappen.

But there was no doubting who was on top in Saturday's qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

Sainz had been quickest in first practice on Friday, and backed that up by topping the times in the first round of qualifying.

His team mate Charles Leclerc had been quickest in Q2, and the final top ten pole shoot-out came down to the pair with Sainz just pulling it off by 0.065s.

Even if he hadn't, Sainz would be on P1 for tomorrow's race anyway because of Leclerc's ten-place engine grid drop after taking a new engine. But the Spaniard was much happier that it was all down to his own performance today.

“It was a lot of fun," he told the media in parc ferme after the end of the session. "It was very tricky out there with these winds; it’s so gusty that every corner is a bit of an adventure with these cars.

"You don’t know how much grip you are going to get or how much grip to expect," he explained.

“I managed to put together a good lap without mistakes and [win a] pole position that was a long time coming after a few qualis in the dry getting very close to it, but not getting there."

That said, Sainz was expecting Ferrari to have a fight on its hands tomorrow with Verstappen promoted to second place by Leclerc's absence.

“I’m not going to lie, for tomorrow Red Bull are still favourites. They normally get us in the race because Max does a good job and Red Bull have a very good car in race trim.

"But we are going to do everything we can to try and stay ahead tomorrow and win the race," he insisted.

As for Leclerc, he will start from 12th on the grid at a venue that has never seen a winner that didn't start on the front row.

"I’ll be starting a bit further back because of the penalty but the goal is to try and come back at the front as quickly as possible," he commented.

“I did my best," he added. "The last lap wasn’t the best. Carlos did a better job today and deserves to be on pole.

Although Verstappen has now clinched the 2022 world championship, there is still a lot of work to do for Leclerc if he wants to hold on to the runners-up spot in the drivers standings.

Leclerc is currently one place behind Verstappen's team mate Sergio Perez. The Mexican also starts tomorrow's race with a grid penalty but in his case it's only a five place drop leaving him lining up in P8 while Leclerc will start from 12th.

“I will give my best as always," he commented when asked about his prospects for Sunday from so far back. "No crazy risks, but if there is opportunity I will be there to take it.”

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

28 mins ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

32 mins ago

Aston Martin says performance shortfall led to Fallows exit

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former…

10 hours ago

FIA clamps down on plank loophole after Red Bull complaint

The FIA has issued a pivotal Technical Directive to F1 teams ahead of this weekend’s…

11 hours ago

F1 drivers blindsided by race director Wittich’s sudden exit

The abrupt removal last week of FIA race director Niels Wittich with just three races…

12 hours ago

McLaren relaxes ‘papaya rules’: Norris and Piastri free to race

Oscar Piastri has confirmed that McLaren’s team orders—dubbed the "Papaya Rules"—have been largely relaxed, giving…

14 hours ago