Singapore GP compromised for Carlos Sainz, who with the accident in today's qualifying will be forced to start from tenth position on a circuit that offers few overtaking opportunities. The Spanish driver is fine, as he himself declared. The mechanics Ferrari, however, they will have to work hard to rebuild the rear of the car, in the hope that no power unit components will need to be replaced.
Singapore GP Qualifying: Carlos Sainz Hits Barriers on Launch Lap
Ferrari clearly in difficulty and the Singapore GP that tomorrow will start uphill for the Maranello team. From the side of box number 16, Charles Leclerc failed to set any time valid for Q3, thus positioning himself in ninth position. Things went worse for Carlos Sainz, who saw his qualifications against the barriers of the Marina Bay circuit. During Q1 and Q2 many drivers ran into checks at the limit at the last corner before the finish line, but only Sainz was unable to recover his car and ended up in another accident. The second after the one that occurred on the penultimate lap of the Baku GP due to the contact he had with Sergio Perez.
In Q3 in Singapore, Carlos Sainz was about to give up for the first of two time attempts. Before launching himself, the Spanish driver was forced to slow down further to let Oscar Piastri's McLaren pass, which was launching its fastest lap. In doing so, Sainz, before turn 17, decided to move off the trajectory to the left. And so, once past Piastri, the number 55 attempted to launch for his qualifying lap. However, starting off the trajectory, he tried to accelerate first, so as not to lose too much time before starting the lap. However, his Ferrari, which probably saw its tyres cool down too much, did not respond very well to the driver's commands, thus running into a pendulum effect that caused Sainz to spin irreparably, before ending up against the barriers.
Sainz bitter about his mistake: “I apologize to the team and yes: it has been a very difficult weekend so far”
Carlos Sainz, after hitting the barriers causing a red flag, then got out of his car, walking independently towards the entrance to the pit lane. There is a lot of disappointment in his words for the mistake he made, even if it came about thanks to a whole series of factors. In fact, this is how Sainz described his last moments on the track before the accident. “I had to let a couple of cars pass, letting the tires cool down. I was already on the cold side (off trajectory) when I started to launch.. Being a Q3 lap I wanted to have a good exit into the last corner. The problem was that as I entered I was already slow compared to Q2 and Q1. I wanted to speed up first to make up some time, otherwise I would have been a tenth slower already on the straight. I underestimated the lack of grip and then there is always a bump at turn 17, which betrays you many times. I didn't evaluate well and I made a driver's mistake. I apologize to the team and yes: it has been a very difficult weekend so far".
