Sainz prioritises taking chance to 'shine' in qualifying

40

Carlos Sainz says it is important for him to "shine" in qualifying given Toro Rosso's current level of performance, after securing a top ten grid slot in Mexico.

The Spaniard will start today's Mexican Grand Prix from tenth on the grid after impressing on Saturday, on a circuit where the two Toro Rossos are clearly rooted at the bottom of the speed traps. Despite being hampered by a 2015-spec Ferrari power unit, Sainz is hoping he can defend his position against cars starting on better tyres.

REPORT: Hamilton takes pole in Mexico as Rosberg recovers to P2

"I think with Toro Rosso and a second year in F1 you need to try to shine or do what you can to do a good job on Saturdays and see what happens on Sundays," Sainz said. "In Austin it worked out when they thought we would not last with the supersoft and we did it.

"Probably it will be more difficult because the supersoft is a disaster but I like challenges. I know I will suffer and I know I will be looking in my mirrors after five laps with the graining of the supersoft and the soft coming quick, but hopefully we can hold onto it."

And Sainz threw down the gauntlet to Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez, suggesting the two drivers directly behind him should beat him in the race.

"I feel great [to outqualify Alonso] but probably he also feels great because [in the race] he has the advantage. The two Spaniards are happy. Let’s see who is happy [after the race].

"On paper, if they don’t beat us, him and Perez, then they need to think about something because of the straight line and strategy advantage, they have to beat us."

15 minutes with ... Nico Rosberg

Silbermann says ... Masked in Mexico

Chris Medland's 2016 Mexican Grand Prix preview

2017 driver line-ups so far

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.