Sainz gets more than he hoped for in qualifying

Carlos Sainz will launch his British Grand Prix from seventh on tomorrow's grid, having gained a spot at the end of qualifying when Force India's Nico Hulkenberg had his fastest time deleted.

The Toro Rosso driver put in a fairly consistent performance in all three segments of qualifying, concluding the session about half a second from sixth placed man Valtteri Bottas.

The result was more than the Spaniard had hoped for given yesterday's difficult start to the weekend endured by Toro Rosso.

"If you would have told me that yesterday, after ending up over one second from the Force Indias, I wouldn't have believed it," said Sainz.

"Beating a Williams, the two Force Indias and the McLaren which was looking quick is an amazing achievement by the whole team. Yesterday we had to stay on late to discover what was wrong on the car as we definitely didn't have the pace.

"But we turned things around and today we are the first team of the mid-field, which is incredible and an amazing job for the team."

Sainz, who has appeared more incisive in the last few races, hopes his can turn his good qualy into a good race result.

"It's been a good run so far, in the points, and we needed a good qualifying after three comeback races. Now we're starting in a good position for tomorrow, hopefully we can capitalize on it.

"I always try to go forward. Even if we have much faster cars in front of us I will try to do something at the start of the race, but it's going to be very tricky."

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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.